Cisco: Just 3% of Businesses Resilient to Cyberattacks

A number that should make business owners of all sizes sit up and take notice, the new 2024 Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index says just 3% of global organizations have the level of readiness to prepare for modern security risks.

But will it? Managed service providers and other channel partners have long said that the No. 1 resistance to customers buying cybersecurity services is the "it won't happen to me" defense. That has only partially waned, despite the continuing rise in ransomware, business email compromise and various other cybersecurity threats from all around the world.

There is, however, some indication that customers are starting to listen. The Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index found that 97% of companies in the survey plan to increase their security budgets in the next 12 months. It's a sentiment underscored by Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager of security and collaboration at Cisco.

Cisco's Jeetu Patel

"We cannot underestimate the threat posed by our own overconfidence," said Patel. "Today's organizations need to prioritize investments in integrated platforms and lean into AI in order to operate at machine scale and finally tip the scales in the favor of defenders."

Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index: Prepare to Be Attacked

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The comprehensive survey further found that 73% of respondents believe a cyber incident will disrupt their business sometime in the next one to two years. Moreover, more than one-half (54%) said they've had an incident in the past year, and of those, 52% said it cost them at least US $300,000.

The human element is often a big factor in leaving a company open to a cyberattack, the Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index indicated. Eighty-five percent of companies said their employees are accessing company platforms from personal devices. It's compounded by the cybersecurity talent gap, as 46% said they had a whopping 10 or more roles related to security that were unfulfilled.

Above: Channel Futures TV's James Anderson talks with Cisco's Brad Feldman at the 2024 Channel Partners Conference & Expo.

The Index, which polled more than 8,000 private sector security and business leaders across 30 global markets, analyzed cyber readiness in terms of identity intelligence, network resilience, machine trustworthiness, cloud reinforcement and AI fortification. Companies were then classified as beginner, formative, progressive or mature. Cisco put just 3% in that "mature" bucket.