Persistent threat of cyber attacks putting pressure on businesses

Unfortunately, cyber attacks are very common in the current workforce. Leaders must be proactive about reducing issues if businesses expect to remain unaffected.

Commenting on cyber attacks, Trellix’s ANZ managing director, Luke Power, said that “unfortunately, [they’re] very common”, as chief information security officers (CSIOs) have managed at least one major cyber security incident within the past five years.

“Earlier in the year, there was a 64 per cent surge in CEO fraud emails, with attackers using common CEO phrases to exploit urgency and authority, among other alarming trends,” explained Mr Power.

“Attacks, however, often fall within the following categories: data theft, malware, DDoS attacks, credential stealing, business email compromise, and ransomware. This diversity, not just in the variety of threats but in their sophistication, highlights how much pressure CISOs and businesses of all sizes face daily to stay secure.”

Mr Power noted that businesses that want to remain protected and avoid any potential issues must be proactive rather than reactive to their cyber security.

“Proactivity is crucial, and not just for threat intelligence. CISOs see a 95 per cent increased backing from their boards post-incident, making it critical for executives to be proactively and consistently engaging with their boards on security matters,” he said.

He continued: “The impact of this can be felt across organisations, impacting available budgets for advanced technology, security strategies, new frameworks and standards, and the establishment of new roles and responsibilities.”

According to Trellix’s Mind of the CISO: Behind the Breach report, 60 per cent of Aussie businesses have had to create jobs to help tackle cyber security issues. This is a smart move for securing data, according to Mr Power.

“Today’s CISO has a considerable task on their hands in keeping out hackers who are continually becoming more sophisticated in the way they perform cyber attacks,” said Mr Power.

“As threats evolve, it is encouraging to see that Australian businesses are doubling down on bringing in the right expertise to support security leaders in preventing major cyber incidents.”

He continued: “In response to major cyber security incidents, Australian businesses are investing big, with a nearly 60 per cent jump in new security roles being created. Some of the roles that we have seen a surge in include threat intelligence analysts, incident response managers, penetration testers, cyber security risk analysts, cyber security engineers, cloud security architects, and network security software developers.”