The Global State of Information Security Survey 20156 of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Luxembourg has reported that prevention, detection methods and cybersecurity innovation are rising to the challenge of the escalating frequency, severity and impact of cyberattacks.

The Survey, released in conjunction with CIO and CSO, examined how executives are drawing on new innovations and frameworks in order to improve security and mitigate enterprise risks. Detected information security incidents have seen a 38% increase worldwide, whilst security budgets were given a 24% boost in 2015.

As business leaders become increasingly involved in cycbersecurity concerns, they have begun to focus on a nexus of innovative technologies capable of reducing enterprise risks and improving performance. 91% of organisations have adopted a security framework or a collection of frameworks, such as ISO 27001 or NIST, which establish holistic, integrated safeguards against cyber-attacks.

"We are seeing more of what we once saw as a risk, being turned into possible solutions," commented Vincent Villers, partner and Cybersecurity Leader at PwC Luxembourg. "For example, many organisations are embracing advanced authentication as a cloud service in place of solely password based authentication."

The move from traditional cybersecurity measures to a cloud-based world is reflective of efforts being made in this domain, with investments in the development of new network infrastructure capabilities which enable improved intelligence gathering, threat modelling, defence against attacks and incident response. 69% of the report's respondents said they employ cloud-based security services in the protection of sensitive date and the guarantee of privacy and protection of consumer information.

"This global trend is also true for Luxembourg," continued Vincent Villers. "Opinions on Cloud technologies are changing. Will such a change in the Financial sector be the surprise of 2016?"

In conjunction with this, Big Data and the Internet of Things each constitute an ascendant technology capable of a host of cyber challenges and opportunities. In the case of Big Data, often considered a cyber liability, 59% of respondents were found to be leveraging data-powered analytics to enhance security by shifting security away from perimeter-based defences and enable organisations to put real-time information to use in ways that create real value.

PwC further stated that the Internet of Things is set to increase the stakes for securing cloud-based networks as the number of internet connected devices continues to surge. This year, investment intended to address these issues doubled, but only 36% of survey respondents cited a strategy specifically addressing the Internet of Things.

"There is no one-size fits all model for effective cybersecurity," added Villers. "It's a journey toward a future state that starts with the right mix of technologies, processes, and people skills. With those components in place, cybersecurity potentially serve as an indispensable ongoing business enabler".

The last three years have bore witness to a steady increase in the number of organisations opting to embrace external collaboration, with the survey finding 65% of respondents cooperating with others to improve security. As more businesses share more data with an exapnding roster of partners and customers, it makes sense that they also would swap intelligence on cybersecurity threats and responses, PwC found.

"An advanced and enhanced information security programme will not only enable companies to better defend against cyberthreats, it will also help create competitive advantages and foster trust among customers and business partners," concluded Vincent Villers.

On 26 November 2015, PwC Luxembourg will be sharing the results of the Global State of Information Security Survey 2016, as well as the latest cybersecurity trends, at a conference, where the firm's cybersecurity experts will discuss the challenges faced by organisations. The experts will also present five innovative solutions in the fields of fraud detection, identity management, authentification and cloud security that have been designed to effectively tackle current and future risks: ThetaRay, BIT, BehavioSec, Brainwave and IBM.

 

Photo by PwC Luxembourg