Survey: 80 Percent of Organizations Experienced an IT Security Incident in 2015

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwired - Dec 15, 2015) - Spiceworks, the professional network for IT, today announced the results of a new survey that explores IT professionals' perceptions of the biggest IT security threats and the steps they're taking to prevent security incidents and breaches within their organizations. The study "Battling the Big Hack" found that while 80 percent of organizations experienced a security incident in 2015, 71 percent of IT professionals expect their organizations to be more secure in 2016.

"The results show that IT professionals feel responsible for the security of their organization's data, and in a world where technology is getting more complex and organizationally distributed, their jobs aren't getting any easier," said Sanjay Castelino, VP of Marketing at Spiceworks. "In reaction to these challenges, they're being more proactive about preventing security incidents and breaches by learning about new threats, regularly educating employees about risks, and investing in more advanced security solutions." 

IT professionals brace for external security threats in 2016

The widespread nature of security threats is forcing IT professionals to evaluate their exposure to common and not-so-common issues they may face in 2016. IT professionals were asked to detail the most common security incidents their organizations experienced in 2015 and compare them to the security challenges they expect in 2016.

• Malware attacks were reported by 51 percent of IT professionals in 2015 followed by phishing and spyware incidents at 38 and 34 percent respectively. This aligns closely to the percent of organizations that are concerned about these incidents in 2016. However, 53 percent said they're concerned about ransomware in 2016, but only 20 percent of organizations experienced a ransomware incident in 2015.
• Thirty-nine and 37 percent of IT professionals also expressed concern about data theft and password breaches respectively, but only five percent of organizations experienced an incident of data theft in 2015 and only 12 percent experienced a password breach.
• IT professionals were also asked to disclose their concerns regarding individual hackers or groups. Forty-nine percent said they're concerned about independent hackers, 36 percent cited rogue employees, and 25 percent said organized crime groups. Only 12 percent said they're concerned about cyber-terrorist groups and state-sponsored hackers, and 10 percent indicated concern for hacktivist groups.

Internal threats represent a significant IT security challenge

The fear of IT security incidents goes well beyond external threats. In fact, 80 percent of surveyed IT professionals indicated that end users represent the biggest challenge when it comes to IT security due to a limited understanding of security issues and resistance to security solutions and policies. Additionally, 48 percent of IT professionals believe "shadow IT," the deployment of technology by employees without approval from the IT department, is a risk to their organization.

IT professionals are also concerned about devices that have access to company data but provide less control to protect end users from breaches, such as mobile devices. When asked which network-connected end points are at risk of a security breach in 2016, 81 percent of IT professionals indicated laptops and 73 percent indicated desktops, but smartphones and tablets weren't far behind at 70 and 62 percent respectively. Nearly 50 percent of IT professionals are also concerned about network-connected IoT devices.

In order to protect end users from breaches on various devices in the workplace, 73 percent of IT professionals are enforcing end-user security policies and 72 percent are regularly educating their employees through lessons on topics such as "how to avoid malware" and "how to spot phishing scams." IT professionals are also focused on their own education and ensuring they're up-to-speed on the latest security issues. In fact, 66 percent are taking the time to learn about new threats and 60 percent are regularly evaluating new security solutions. 

Advanced security solutions used to combat threats

Spiceworks' 2016 State of IT report found that security represents IT professionals' most important IT initiative in 2016. As a result, IT pros are preparing to combat internal and external security threats by investing in advanced security solutions in addition to more common IT security tools such as content filtering, firewalls, VPNs, and anti-virus solutions.

When asked how they plan to invest in more advanced solutions in the "Battling the Big Hack" report, 36 percent of IT professionals expect to increase their investment in intrusion detection, 24 percent expect to increase investment in penetration testing, and 22 percent expect to increase investment in advanced threat protection.

"The number one source of a network breach or virus infection are end users that lack an understanding of potential security risks," said CJ Wood, IT director at Decorating Den Interiors. "We have to remember they aren't the IT professionals. It's our job to protect them with comprehensive security tools and make sure they're educated on cyber threats, phishing, spam, and other security issues."

Methodology
The survey was conducted in October 2015 and included 197 respondents from North America and EMEA. Respondents are among the millions of IT professionals in Spiceworks and represent a variety of company sizes including small-to-medium-sized businesses as well as enterprises. Respondents come from a variety of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, non-profits, education, government, and finance. For more information and a complete list of survey results, visit http://www.spiceworks.com/marketing/it-security/report/.

About Spiceworks Voice of IT
Spiceworks' Voice of IT shares statistics, trends, and opinions collected from millions of IT professionals on the global technology issues that are important to them.

About Spiceworks
Spiceworks is the professional network millions of IT professionals use to connect with one another and thousands of technology brands. The company simplifies how IT professionals discover, buy and manage an estimated $600 billion in technology products and services each year. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Spiceworks is backed by Adams Street Partners, Austin Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), Goldman Sachs, Shasta Ventures and Tenaya Capital. For more information visit http://www.spiceworks.com.

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