IT Execs Remain Confident Amid Escalating Cyberattacks

With the number of severe cyberattacks on the rise, Information Technology (IT) executives working within critical infrastructure organizations are pleased with the results of their efforts to improve cybersecurity over recent years, according to a survey released yesterday (July 20) by the Aspen Institute and Intel Security.

The survey, which was conducted by interviewing 625 IT decision-makers with influence over their organization’s security solutions in France, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S., found that 86 percent of respondents saw a need for threat intelligence sharing partnerships between both public and private entities in order to stay ahead of the growing number of cybersecurity threats.

Roughly 76 percent of those IT professionals indicated a national defense force should respond when cyberattacks to critical infrastructure companies take place within national borders.

“This data raises new and vital questions about how public and private interests can best join forces to mitigate and defend against cyberattacks,” Clark Kent Ervin, Director of Aspen Institute’s Homeland Security Program, said in a company release detailing the survey results. “This issue must be addressed by policymakers and corporate leaders alike.”

According to the survey, titled “Holding the Line Against Cyber Threats: Critical Infrastructure Readiness Survey,” while many of the respondents reported being satisfied with the work they were doing to combat cyber threats, almost half (48 percent) admitted the likelihood of a cyberattack taking place within the next three years that could end in the loss of human life.

The results point to the possibility of a disconnect between critical infrastructure providers, such as transportation, government and energy, and the happenings within the current cybersecurity landscape.

More than 70 percent of respondents said the threat level within their organization is accelerating, roughly nine in 10 (89 percent) reported experiencing at least one cyberattack on a system deemed secure within the past three years, with a median of approximately 20 attacks each year.

Despite these outcomes, 64 percent still believe existing IT security measures have prevented attacks from escalating to the point where there are resulting fatalities.

More than four in five respondents are “satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” with the performance of their own security tools such as endpoint protection (84 percent), network firewalls (84 percent) and secure Web gateways (85 percent).

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