Each year, CyberEdge publishes the Cyberthreat Defense Report (CDR). Aimed at IT security leaders, this comprehensive report outlines the threats, security issues, and industry concerns that are most pressing.

Information summarized in the CDR is gathered through surveys conducted in 17 countries and 19 industries. Respondents are IT decision-makers in organizations with at least 500 employees. The diversity of locations and industries provides a broad and multi-faceted insight into cybersecurity across the globe.

By understanding the real and perceived global cybersecurity threats, IT and security professionals can assess their own cyber threat defenses and make decisions to mitigate risk better. The details of this report help prioritize, plan, and plug cybersecurity gaps.

Cybersecurity Attacks on Organizations – The Current Landscape

Opening the conversation around cybersecurity, respondents were asked how many times their organization’s global network had been compromised in the previous 12-month period. Looking at the numbers, any hope that cybercriminals had slowed down has been dashed.

Alarmingly, more than 85% of organizations reported a successful cyberattack in the past year. The previous CDR figures showed that 86.2% of organizations had fallen victim to cybersecurity compromises.

In 2022, more than 40% of organizations suffered six or more cyberattacks. This is more than double what it was just eight years ago. Security threats have been compounded by employees transitioning to remote or hybrid work arrangements, increasing dependence on cloud-based environments, and criminal motivations to exploit security holes in mobile and web applications. Organizations need to ensure substantial and well-spent security budgets to mitigate these risks.

Exploited Industries

Within the 19 industries polled for the report, Cyberedge categorizes “7 major” industries. Of these, educational institutions again took the top spot as the most frequently victimized by the volume of successful cybersecurity attacks.

While 90.5% of educational respondents reported attacks, (Read more...)