VMware global security insights

Cyberattacks targeting the Anywhere Workforce (WFA) is causing security leaders to rethink and transform cybersecurity strategies, according to a research by VMware (www.vmware.com) with close to 80% of organizations saying they have experienced cyberattacks due to more employees working from home.

“The race to adopt cloud technology since the start of the pandemic has created a once-in-a-generation chance for business leaders to rethink their approach to cybersecurity,” explains Rick McElroy, Principal Cybersecurity Strategist, VMware.  “Legacy security systems are no longer sufficient.  Organizations need protection that extends beyond endpoints to workloads to better secure data and applications.  As attacker sophistication and security threats become more prevalent, we must empower defenders to detect and stop attacks, as well as implement security stacks built for a cloud-first world.”

Based on an online survey of 3,542 CIOs, CTOs and CISOs in December 2020 from across the globe, the VMware report, ‘Global Security Insights Report 2021: Intelligence from the Global Cybersecurity Landscape’, reveals that 81% of respondents have suffered a breach in the last 12 months with 82% of breaches considered material. Yet, many security professionals are underestimating the likelihood of a material breach with only 56% saying they fear a material breach in the next year, and just over one-third report that they have updated their security policy and approach to mitigate the risk.

Resurgence of ransomware and remote work creates unpredictable attack surface says the report.  Over 75% of respondents say attack volumes had increased – with majority pointing to employees working from home as the cause – and 79% say attacks had become more sophisticated.  Cloud-based attacks were the most frequently experienced attack type in the past year, whereas the leading breach causes were third-party apps (14%) and ransomware (14%).

Applications and workloads are top CISO concerns with 63% of respondents agreeing they need better visibility over data and apps in order to pre-empt attacks.  

The report also reveals that security concerns are holding back adoption of AI with 56% saying that security concerns around artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) were impacting on business innovation.

A copy of the VMware report, ‘Global Security Insights Report 2021: Intelligence from the Global Cybersecurity Landscape’ can be downloaded at https://www.carbonblack.com/resources/global-security-insights-report-2021-intelligence-from-the-global-cybersecurity-landscape.