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.
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.
