A new Kaspersky report, ‘Real talk on cybersecurity – What’s annoying, what’s missing, what’s really helping?’, reveals 22 percent of IT leaders say their C-level peers don’t fully grasp the business relevance of cybersecurity, highlighting a structural disconnect between boardroom priorities and frontline defense in SMBs in the United Kingdom.
Operational strain is pervasive with many SMB in the United Kingdom expanding their effort to simply hold the line – nearly half (42 percent) of IT leaders report that keeping track of potential cyber threats is a full-time role. Furthermore, 22 percent are so inundated by alerts that distinguishing critical incidents from noise has become a daily hurdle. Furthermore, 22 percent spend more time fixing security tools than stopping attacks. The picture is clear: effort is high, impact is blunted.
Threats are real – and so is the struggle with C-level
According to data collected by Kaspersky Security Network
in selected European countries, the most prevalent threats in 2025 were
backdoors (24 percent), Trojans (17 percent), and ‘not-a-virus:Downloader’ (16
percent). A spread that demands consistent triage and response discipline
despite differing regional profiles.
Capability and leadership gaps continue to widen exposure, highlighting a disconnect between executive priorities and frontline security practices. Almost a quarter (22 percent) of IT leaders say their C-level peers do not fully grasp the business relevance of cybersecurity, limiting the mandate and momentum for change.
A shortage of skilled specialists is also evident: 20 percent report insufficient expertise, so most SMBs rely on general IT teams (35 percent) or cybersecurity specialists within those teams (35 percent). Only 25 percent have a dedicated cybersecurity team, and just 3 percent rely on external partners as the primary party responsible for designing and managing the company’s cybersecurity.
Paradoxically, internal satisfaction is high – 71 percent are satisfied with IT departments overall, 90 percent with embedded cybersecurity experts, and 100 percent with dedicated internal cybersecurity teams – hinting at a perception gap between perceived performance and real-world exposure.
“The challenge is less about a lack of tools and more about creating coherence. Signals often arrive faster than decisions, which means controls and workflows may pause at the critical moment when action is required. In many UK SMBs, this is compounded by the fact that security is managed by generalist IT staff or small specialist teams, and only 25 percent have a dedicated cybersecurity function. Recognizing the business relevance of cybersecurity is the first step toward bridging the gap between boardroom priorities and frontline defense. With this foundation in place, organizations can strengthen triage, preserve context, and streamline escalation to prevent tactical issues from evolving into strategic risks,” says Oscar Suela, General Manager, Iberia, UK & Ireland at Kaspersky.
To address the missing know-how and the implementation gap, organizations should take the following steps:
- Turn cybersecurity plans into actionable protection: Kaspersky Next for small and medium-sized businesses integrates advanced endpoint protection with EDR and XDR – delivering real-time visibility, investigation, and response. For SMBs with an established IT stack, Kaspersky Next XDR Optimum extends integration and telemetry for playbook-driven response.
- Provide protection with limited IT resources: Kaspersky Small Office Security offers manageable, professional-grade protection against financial fraud, data theft, and ransomware without requiring in-house expertise.
- Invest in awareness and education: The Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform supports role-specific, scalable learning to minimize everyday risk.
- Integrate and cultivate cyber resilience: Establish a security-first mindset that embeds responsibilities, processes, and controls into daily operations.
For
this survey Kaspersky commissioned Arlington Research to carry out an online
self-complete survey with decision makers whose role involves cybersecurity in
a significant way, working for organizations with less than 500 employees in
Europe and Africa in August and September 2025. Arlington conducted a total of
820 interviews with this audience (Europe: 600; Africa: 280; 60 interviews
each: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Romania,
Serbia, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Cameroon; 20 interviews each: Senegal
and Ivory Coast). More information here.
