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AUSTRALIAN ORGANISATIONS EXPECT A CYBERATTACK WITHIN A YEAR
Nearly two-thirds of Australian organisations think a potential cyberattack on their organisation is likely or very likely in the next 12 months , according to the 2021 Australian Cybersecurity Risk Report , a new report from Varonis Systems , a pioneer in data security and analytics .
For the inaugural study , Varonis analysed 515 responses from C-level executives and senior managers in decision-making roles . Surveyed companies including small to large businesses across industries that include IT and telecom , financial services , government , manufacturing , professional services , education and healthcare .
The report aims to shed light on how Australian organisations are adjusting to modern security challenges , safeguarding sensitive data and mitigating risk from ransomware and insider threats .
The report also offers insight into what businesses can do to minimise their risk .
Scott Leach , Vice President of Sales , APAC , at Varonis , said : “ Four in five respondents are confident they can defend against an attack – a surprising statistic in light of today ’ s evolving threats and big ransomware pay-outs .
Key findings from the 2021 Australian Cybersecurity Risk Report include :
• 82 % of Australian organisations rated their ability to protect themselves from a cyberattack as good or very good
• Almost two-thirds ( 63 %) think a potential cyberattack on their organisation is likely or very likely in the next 12 months
• Organisations listed data loss or theft as the biggest cybersecurity concern ( 53 %), followed closely by human error ( 40 %) and insider threats ( 37 %)
• Loss of brand reputation was rated the top overall concern by 29 % of organisations , followed by loss of intellectual property ( 24 %) and costs associated with a cybersecurity breach ( 18 %)
• Nearly three-quarters ( 71 %) of organisations store sensitive information in Microsoft 365
" Executives and board members must put their data first and proactively turn to cyber-resilience – preventing breaches by limiting an organisation ’ s ‘ blast radius ’ – the potential damage a compromised user or account could do during an attack .”
Varonis recommends organisations take the following proactive steps to improve their security :
• Develop , implement and enforce data management and data access policies
• Provide cybersecurity education for staff to avoid falling victim to phishing and spearphishing attacks
• Focus on reducing the damage attackers can do by limiting your blast radius – the damage attackers can do once inside your environment x www . intelligentcxo . com
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