IDG says the problem is exacerbated by factors including the disparate toolsets involved, outdated technology lacking the APIs to support automation and the lack of skilled cybersecurity staff equipped to implement automated processes.
It also found that nearly 80% of senior IT and IT security leaders believe their organizations lack sufficient protection against cyberattacks despite increased IT security investments made in 2020 to deal with distributed IT and work-from-home challenges.
That high level of concern over the ability to withstand cyberthreats in today’s complex IT environment is causing 91% of organizations to increase their cybersecurity budgets in 2021, nearly matching the 96% that boosted IT security spending in 2020, according to the survey.
The survey, “Cybersecurity at a Crossroads: The Insight 2021 Report,” examined the impact of the distributed IT landscape and pandemic-related transition to a remote workforce on IT security, including shifts in modernization priorities, projects undertaken in 2020 and major obstacles faced in strengthening cybersecurity defenses. Respondents included more than 200 C-level IT and IT security executives in organizations with an average of 21,300 employees across a wide range of industries.
The survey found that 78% lack confidence in their company’s IT security posture and believe improvements are needed. Respondents expressed the least confidence in their organization’s security roadmap (32%), security-related technology and tools (30%), and internal teams and skill sets (27%). They reported the highest level of trust in their company’s data management strategy, but even then, less than half (45%) voiced confidence in this aspect of security operations.
Another key finding is that 55% rank lack of automation as the #1 challenge in security operations and management, reflecting their inability to manually analyze and respond to the flood of notifications and events generated by today’s increasingly complex security infrastructure.
Yet only 27% of respondents expanded security staff in 2020 – down slightly from 30% in 2019.
