The Executive Guide to NTT Security’s 2019 Global Threat Intelligence Report reveals that the finance (score 1.71 out of 5) and technology (score 1.66 out of 5) sectors boast the highest maturity ratings and are continuing to ramp up their security posture, most likely prompted by their unenviable positions as the most commonly targeted industries, each accounting for 17% of all attacks recorded in 2018.
Globally, the average cybersecurity maturity rating stands at a worrying 1.45 out of 5 – a score determined by an organisation’s holistic approach to cybersecurity from a process, metrics and strategic perspective. This comes during a time when security vulnerabilities have also surged to a record high (up 12.5% from 2017). These findings were revealed by Dimension Data, the USD 8 billion global technology integrator and managed services provider for hybrid IT.
Scouring trillions of logs and billions of attacks, the research also revealed the most common attack types, with web attacks the most prevalent threat, doubling in frequency since 2017 and accounting for 32% of all attacks detected last year. Reconnaissance (16%) was the next most common hostile activity, closely followed by service-specific attacks (13%) and brute-force attacks (12%).
The finance and the technology sectors are the most cybermature, however they were the most attacked, each representing 17% of all attacks, and feature in the top five risks for every region.
Neville Burdan, Solutions Director – Cybersecurity at Dimension Data Asia Pacific, said: “There’s clearly work to be done across all sectors in order to establish more robust security postures. However, it’s reassuring to see many C-suite leaders recognising the importance of making more strategic investments to improve their cybersecurity defences.”
He continued: “There have been some exciting developments in the predictive threat intelligence space, with new levels of collaboration and buy-in across the cybersecurity value chain. What’s more, the most targeted industries are also the most likely to seek assistance to evolve their strategies and build their security programmes. This bodes well for companies looking to reach their desired cybermaturity state.”
Other highlights from the research include:
- Globally, 35% of attacks originate from IP addresses within the US and China, followed by EMEA
and APAC. - Cryptojacking represents a significant amount of hostile activity, at times accounting for more
detections than all other malware combined, hitting the technology and education sectors hardest. - Credential theft is up as attackers target cloud credentials, with tech companies (36%), telcos
(18%), and business and professional services (14%) significantly impacted by this.
Click here to download Dimension Data Executive Guide to the NTT Security 2019 Global Threat Intelligence Report.