With the global shift to remote working, the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve across Europe, and the UK & Ireland is no exception. Employees have been working outside the usual security procedures they face in the office, and cybercriminals are all too aware of this.
Whether it’s from email-based threats, such as Business Email Compromise attacks (BEC), compromised cloud accounts or debilitating ransomware attacks, cybercriminals are tricking employees using social engineering techniques to steal credentials, siphon sensitive data, and fraudulently transfer funds.
To better understand how people-centric cyberattacks are impacting organisations in the current climate, Proofpoint commissioned a survey of 150 CISOs/CSOs across the UK&I, from a range of industries in December 2020. The study, conducted by Censuswide, explored several key areas, including:
- The nature and frequency of cyber attacks
- The level of employee and organisational cyber preparedness
- The impact of the global shift to remote working on security teams
- How organisations are preparing for the future threat landscape
The study found that the need to protect people from imminent threats has never been greater, with a large share of organisations in the UK&I experiencing more than one significant cyber attack last year. It also highlights, among other key insights, that from board-level buy-in to upping cybersecurity awareness training, UK&I businesses are taking steps to shore up their cyber defences.