Kiwi businesses are taking cyber security more seriously – but there’s room for improvement, according to the latest report from cybersecurity products provider Kordia.
The report showed that while progress is being made by New Zealand firms, chinks remain in the corporate armour – and people still present the greatest risk of all.
“Over half of New Zealand businesses now acknowledge their risk of falling victim to cyber-crime,” Kordia head of communications Esmée O’Brien said.
In line with recent high-profile ransomware attacks, O’Brien said two-thirds of businesses updated or reviewed their policies, while more than half of all businesses are planning to increase their budget for information security in the year ahead.
The report also showed two-thirds of respondents have carried out employee training or awareness programmes.
“This is a great result. Technology can only go so far when it comes to securing information – the rest is up to people,” she said. “We'd like to see that number higher, but it does show that more businesses are getting the message and understanding that cybersecurity is a company-wide issue."
The study also confirmed the prevalence of cyber-attacks – which will not slow in the year ahead.
According to O'Brien, the findings reflect progress in awareness of the inevitability of cyber-attacks for the modern business.
However, despite over half of businesses being aware of the risk of cyber-crime, a concerning 41% do not have any cyber insurance in place, and almost 29% do not have a cyber-incident response plan in place, she said.
The research, commissioned in September, polled 225 business information technology (IT) decision makers.
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