Sharp study: uncertainties and shortcomings in Swiss cybersecurity
The results of Sharp's large-scale Europe-wide survey of more than 500 IT decision-makers in Swiss SMEs show that these companies are primarily concerned by cyber threats. This affects their business operations, reputation and revenue. Other challenges include global crises, economic tensions and skills shortages. The study also looked at confidence in IT security measures and barriers to future investment in IT security.
According to the new Sharp study, more than a third of respondents (35 percent) are more concerned about cyberthreats than they were a year ago, with more than a third of organizations also saying they had been affected by some form of cybersecurity breach in the past 12 months. These were primarily malware (36 percent), cloud security breaches (35 percent), phishing and network vulnerabilities (33 percent) and computer viruses (32 percent).
Little trust in IT security measures
Eight out of ten of those surveyed (81 percent) also lack confidence in their company's ability to deal with security risks appropriately or to reduce them preventively. What is worrying here is that even low-threshold security measures are not yet ubiquitous: Not even half of companies (38 percent) reported having firewalls, and even fewer (34 percent) confirm having stringent password policies. Surprisingly, given this fact, more than half (63 percent) of the companies surveyed have no plans to increase their IT security budget this year.
Modern work concepts reinforce concerns
In terms of the potential impact of an IT security breach on their business, respondents said reputational damage (40 percent), as well as negative impact on recruiting and business continuity (36 percent each), financial loss (35 percent) and dwindling customer confidence (33 percent) were their biggest concerns. These are exacerbated by trends such as hybrid work models and BYOD approaches for employees (28 percent each).
"Companies of all sizes operate in an increasingly complex digital environment. As a result, they face ever greater, ever-changing IT security challenges. Especially for smaller companies without extensive IT resources, these risks feel even greater and more threatening," comments Antonio Papalo, COO at Sharp Electronics Switzerland, on the results of the survey. "Nevertheless, it is essential that every company, regardless of its size, protects its data in the best possible way and ensures that all networks and devices are as secure as possible. Professional advice from reliable partners can make an important contribution here: with their support and expertise, such partners ensure that the right decisions are made when it comes to IT security issues and that the security strategy and solutions are holistically designed and always up to date."
Source: www.sharp.ch
