Whether it’s an annual physical, a business review, or a State of the Union address, it’s good to take a moment to check in and see where things stand. Doctors look at your vital signs. Businesses look at KPIs (key performance indicators). Many presidents look at polls and leading economic indicators like unemployment numbers and inflation rates.
It’s all about looking at the data and answering questions. Where are we now? How do we get to where we want to go?
As a leader in AI-powered data security and management, we recently released our second annual report, The State of Data Security and Management Report 2023, to get a pulse check on our industry. The research report is based on a 2023 survey of over 3,400 IT and SecOps decision-makers in Australia, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S.
It’s a ransomware world
What can the survey results tell us about where we are now? Ransomware remains top of mind. Last year, 74% of respondents said they felt the threat of ransomware attacks in their industry increased that year. When asked that same question this year, that number jumped to 93%.
Despite indicating that the threat of ransomware worsened from 2022 to 2023, 80% expressed concerns about their organization’s cyber resilience strategy and whether it can address today’s cyber challenges and threats. This is troublesome, to say the least.
Takeaways from the report
Ransomware knows no borders. It’s a global scourge with global impacts that reach deeper and deeper into nearly every corner of the world. So assessing the state of data security and management through a global lens (including the seven countries we canvassed in 2023) shines an important light.
Based on the survey results, it’s safe to make a few declarations. Ransomware and cyberattacks are now the rule, no longer the exception. Business resilience depends on the ability of IT and SecOps to work together—and even the vendors themselves can collaborate toward the common goal of defeating ransomware. (Fortunately, many of them are already doing so in the Data Security Alliance.)
In addition, 90% of respondents said their organization would benefit from a data security and management platform that provides insights into their overall security posture and cyber resilience. With these insights, organizations can lower the risk of operational disruptions and improve their ability to withstand cyberattacks. Data insights can help you get more value from your data, improve efficiencies, and help you identify security risks. Tapping into their potential lets you make better, and more importantly, data-driven decisions for your business.
For a more complete analysis of the survey results, and to learn what your peers are doing to shore up their own cyber resilience, get The State of Data Security and Management Report 2023.
