DarkMatter has found that 48 percent of respondents to its DarkMatter Cyber Security Poll say their organisations do not have a senior management executive assigned to oversee cybersecurity, while 46 percent of respondents said their organisations did not have a Board-level representative responsible for cyber security.
The statistics are extracted from a poll conducted by DarkMatter during the Gulf Information Security Expo & Conference (GISEC) 2016 held in Dubai, at which the company was the Cyber Security Innovation Partner. DarkMatter was able to poll the answers of over 200 information and communication technology (ICT) visitors present at the event.
The poll identified that 23 percent of respondents believe that their organisations have been victim to an internal cyber security breach, while 32 percent believe their organisations have fallen victim to an external attack. This suggests external threats pose a greater threat to organisations’ digital assets than internal ones, with a further poll result indicating 46 percent of respondents believe cyber security breaches are most often the result of human factors.
DarkMatter Chief Executive Officer Faisal Al Bannai said, “Raising awareness regarding the real and evolving threat of cyber attacks is imperative in any modern, digital society. It is not about fear-mongering, it is about understanding what is at risk when entities and people operate in a connected online environment; what threat actors may be present and what they are in search of; and what steps can be taken to reduce vulnerabilities or mitigate threats.
“It is highly encouraging to note that almost 70 percent of respondents said they would trust a UAE-based company to provide their organisation with end-to-end cyber security solutions, as this is precisely what DarkMatter is here to do. We combine tier one cybersecurity experts located in the UAE, drawn from around the world, with trusted relationships with governments, and cutting-edge research and development undertaken right here in the country.”
However, challenges still exist given 34 percent of respondents said if their organisation was to experience a cyber security incident, they did not believe it possessed sufficient network monitoring capabilities to identify the breach in a timely fashion.
Further, 49 percent of respondents said they believed cyber security is ultimately the responsibility of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) more than it is the organisation using it, which is a cause for concern as it may result in companies abdicating the responsibility of actively defending their data assets.
DarkMatter advises the consideration of its Cyber Security Life-Cycle, which entails a four-stage approach encompassing planning, detection, protection, and recovery and is aimed at ensuring an organisation remains aware, guarded, and protected against cyber intrusions at all times.
