It appears that businesses are finally heeding the advice of the experts and taking their cyber security seriously, as investment levels are reaching new heights.
Nordlayer research shows cyber security is the most popular category in IT spending, with two-thirds (66%) of companies buying such solutions and services so far in 2023, 57% also spending money on cyber security training Are.
Furthermore, the majority of UK companies have in-house cyber security experts, and only 22% outsource these services.
big spender?
As cyber attacks on companies increase, the need for proper investment in defensive infrastructure is more urgent than ever. Nordlayer’s research also shows that last year, malware was the most popular form of attack overall at 43%, followed by phishing attacks (31%) and data breaches (26%).
Just under a quarter of companies suffered losses of up to £5,000 and 17% more than £10,000 as a result. Furthermore, a quarter of those surveyed did not disclose how much they suffered from such attacks, so the figures could be even higher.
Antivirus software is used by 79% of British companies surveyed, and password managers and file encryption solutions are used by 63% and 66% respectively, making these three the most popular choices for maintaining security status quo Are.
Business VPNs are also quite popular, as more than half of all companies use them. 56% also use cyber insurance, a new tool designed to help in the aftermath of an attack rather than a tool to prevent it.
In comparing attack vectors across businesses of different sizes, some interesting findings emerged. Small businesses are more likely to suffer from identity theft and data breaches, and they have had the fewest attacks overall.
Medium businesses were more at risk of malware, social engineering and insider threats. They also received more data breaches and DDoS attacks than any other business size.
Large companies were the most cyberattacked overall, with 92% confirming the same. Malware and phishing were the most prominent forms of attack they faced, followed by data breaches and identity theft. Ransomware was the least likely form of attack against them.
While cyber security is a popular area of budget spending, the actual amount of money is small compared to other IT expenses.
“Business budgeting trends show that cyber security investments receive only a small portion of the allocated IT budget. Cybersecurity funds must be distributed wisely to ensure valuable results, prove the chosen security direction is effective, and minimize waste of resources, says Carlos Salas, cyber security expert at Nordlayer.











