Automation and gamification could be key to thwarting cyber threats

Automation and the use of gamification are keys to defending against cyber criminals, according to new research from security technology provider McAfee.

The company commissioned market researcher Vanson Bourne to survey 300 senior security managers and 650 security professionals in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Singapore, Australia and Japan, and found that 46 percent of respondents think in the next year they will either struggle to deal with the increase of cyber threats or that it will be impossible to defend against them.

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Coaxial cables connect to a computer server unit inside a communications room at an office in London, U.K., on Monday, May 15, 2017. Governments and companies around the world began to gain the upper hand against the first wave of an unrivaled global cyberattack, even as the assault was poised to continue claiming victims this week. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

A majority of respondents (81 percent) think cyber security would be more successful if greater automation were implemented, and 78 percent said the current generation entering the workforce, those who grew up playing video games, are stronger candidates for cyber security roles.

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Complicating the dynamics of the competition between security responders and cyber criminals is the cyber security skills crisis. Survey respondents think they need to increase their IT staff by nearly one quarter (24 percent) in order to manage the threats their organizations are facing, while 84 percent admitted it is difficult to attract talent and 31 percent said they do not actively do anything to attract new talent.

“With cyber security breaches being the norm for organizations, we have to create a workplace that empowers cyber security responders to do their best work,” said Grant Bourzikas, chief information security officer at McAfee.

This story originally appeared in Information Management.
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Cyber security Cyber attacks Data security Automation
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