According to Netwrix's 2020 Cyber Threats Report, 25 percent of Information Technology (IT) professionals feel like their organization is exposed to more cyber risks than before the pandemic.
Among respondents who feel more vulnerable, 63 percent said their organization has experienced more frequent cyberattacks, while 60 percent said that transitioning to remote work exposed new security gaps.
Eighty-five percent of chief information security officers surveyed said they had sacrificed cybersecurity in order to transition to remote work quickly. In addition, 54 percent said they lack the visibility to ensure proper data protection.
The most common threats respondents have faced since transitioning to remote work are: 1. phishing (48 percent); 2. administrator mistakes (27 percent); and 3. employees improperly sharing data (26 percent).
The survey also found that 25 percent of organizations suffered a ransomware or malware attack during the first three months of the pandemic. Although only 14 percent had experienced employees stealing data, 66 percent said they worry about it, an increase since before the pandemic. Supply chain compromises are the attack that took the longest to detect.
Netwrix surveyed 937 IT professionals globally for the report. "Survey: 85% of CISOs Admit they Sacrificed Cybersecurity to Quickly Enable Employees to Work Remotely" netwrix.com (Sep. 22, 2020).