Survey Shows CISOs Losing Confidence in Ability to Stop Ransomware Attacks

An annual survey of CISOs from Canada, the UK, and US reveals that security teams are starting to lose hope that they can defend against the next ransomware attack.

The survey was conducted by SpyCloud, and it showed that although budgets to protect against cyberattacks have swelled by 86%, a full 90% of organizations surveyed said they had been impacted by a ransomware over the past year.

"Additionally, more organizations have implemented 'Plan B' measures this year, from opening cryptocurrency accounts to purchasing ransomware insurance riders," the SpyCloud ransomware report said. "These findings suggest that organizations realize threats are slipping through their defenses and a ransomware attack is inevitable."

The survey did show some bright spots on the cybersecurity front — nearly three-quarters of those organizations surveyed are using multifactor authentication (MFA), with an increase from 44% to 73% year-over-year. The report added that respondents said they are focused on stopping credential-stealing malware, particularly on unmanaged network devices.