Budget constraints: 15% of companies fall victim to cyber attacks

ISLAMABAD: A recent study by Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company, reveals that 15% of companies worldwide have fallen victim to cyber incidents within the last two years due to insufficient investment in cybersecurity.

Critical infrastructure, oil & gas, and energy sectors faced the highest number of cyber incidents, primarily resulting from improper budget allocation. Alarmingly, one in five companies globally admits lacking the budget necessary for robust cybersecurity measures, with critical infrastructure sectors being the most affected.

The telecommunications sector witnessed 13% of cyber incidents attributed to budget constraints, while transport & logistics, and financial services companies each experienced 8%. Despite 78% of respondents claiming to keep up with or stay ahead of new threats, 21% acknowledge inadequate funds for proper cybersecurity infrastructure protection. Additionally, 3% of companies reported having no dedicated budget for cybersecurity at all.

The study also indicates a positive shift, with many companies planning to strengthen their cybersecurity measures in the next 1-1.5 years. Popular areas of investment include threat detection software, with 39% allocating budgets for cybersecurity professional education and 38% for training general staff. Other planned measures include the adoption of endpoint protection software, hiring additional IT professionals, and implementing SaaS cloud solutions.

Ivan Vassunov, VP, Corporate Products at Kaspersky, emphasizes the need for companies to align cybersecurity investment with business strategy. He recommends using modern approaches and technologies, including Advanced Anomaly Control in products such as Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum. To optimize budgets, Kaspersky suggests implementing solutions like Kaspersky Endpoint Security Cloud for smaller enterprises and cybersecurity training platforms for employee awareness.

Vassunov stresses the importance of justifying investments by providing C-level dashboards and reports that highlight incident prevention, investigation speed, and the effectiveness of cybersecurity solutions. Kaspersky’s commitment to enhancing understanding and preparedness includes tools like Kaspersky Interactive Protection Simulation for comprehensive C-level professional education.