Businesses don't know how to be more proactive when it comes to cybersecurity, despite widespread fear of attack

And with business decision makers set to become increasingly more responsible for security incidents in the future, according to Gartner, companies must strengthen their cyber protection and implement a solid cybersecurity strategy that spans an entire organisation – especially as Kaspersky’s new research reveals that 82% of UK businesses have already suffered a cyberattack.  

C-level management must therefore align their IT department or Security Operation Centre (SOC) with all other departments – from HR to marketing and sales – to guide their company towards a safer future. This requires implementing a SOC at enterprise level and – especially for smaller companies lacking internal resources – adding on an external threat intelligence layer or Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) integration. 

A new Kaspersky report, entitled ‘Must-have cybersecurity insights for proactive business decision makers’, has unveiled the uncertainty that UK business decision makers face in taking the correct measures to tackle the growing cyber threat landscape – and the lack of internal support to do so.  

Six in ten (60%) of UK business decision makers in SMBs and enterprises are concerned about a lack of support within their organisations to prevent cybersecurity incidents, and over half (57%) struggle to get funding for cybersecurity improvements. Furthermore, 68% of UK businesses admit being concerned about suffering a cyberattack. When it comes to the types of cyber-attacks businesses encounter, email phishing attacks (65%), ransomware (68%) and malware attacks (68%) are the top threats that decision makers fear, not forgetting the concern of the risk that insider threats can bring to the business. 

“Companies should (and can) do much more to protect themselves, amid the increasing threats they are facing. For example, their cybersecurity strategy should be implemented in a top-down model, as investing in IT security will result in a significant return on security investment for the future. Companies need to be more proactive than ever, protecting both their digital and physical assets. Basic IT security tactics and tools, such as endpoint protection, are not enough. But by combining a comprehensive security solution that automatically detects and blocks cyber threats with human, outsourced expertise, IT teams can focus on their core tasks again,” says Chris Hurst, General Manager of Kaspersky UK&I. 

To protect themselves properly, companies need both technology and human expertise. This means they need an integrated approach with one trusted partner, so they get enterprise-wide visibility which saves time and allows them to be more efficient. To compensate for the lack of resources and expertise and to bolster protection against complex and advanced threats, companies should utilise external cybersecurity expertise – combined with trusted and recognised technology. Taking a partner approach delivers visibility across all endpoints on corporate networks and offers superior defences, enabling the automation of routine tasks to discover, prioritise, investigate and neutralise complex threats and APT-like attacks. 

“Many businesses invest in the technology but then lack the expertise to use it in the best possible way. MDR services help fill the skills gaps and allow the end user to learn ‘on the fly’, while being guided by experts, creating a win-win scenario”, Hurst added. 

Kaspersky’s new report is available here and includes a checklist for business decision makers on how they can optimise their cyber-protection, step-by-step.  

Find more information about Kaspersky’s EDR and MDR portfolio at https://go.kaspersky.com/EDR-Security.html  

Research Methodology 

The survey was conducted by Arlington Research on behalf of Kaspersky in August 2021. It involved an online survey of 1,500 business decisionmakers in Europe – 250 each from Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and the Czech Republic. 62% of respondents are employed in companies and organisations with a size of 50 to 999 employees and 38% with more than 1,000 employees.