Most organizations juggling perceived innovation benefits against increased security risks

Organizations are trying to balance their desire for new innovations with their need for strong cyber security, according to a new report from CompTIA, a technology industry trade association.

CompTIA’s report, based on a survey of 500 U.S. businesses, also showed that company executives, business staff and technology professionals have distinctly different views on where their organization stands when it comes to cyber readiness.

The stakes have never been higher for business operations as well as public and private safety, according to Seth Robinson, senior director for technology analysis at CompTIA.

“Companies are experimenting with and implementing new technologies, from the Internet of Things and blockchain to augmented reality and artificial intelligence,” Robinson said. “Each of these innovations and others have the promise of new possibilities, but they also create new and unique security complications.”

The survey found that 45 percent of companies are completely satisfied with their current cyber security readiness. While that’s up significantly from the 21 percent of organizations that responded that way in 2017, it leaves more than half of organizations still thinking they can do more.

Progress on cyber security might be stalled due to differing opinions from different areas of the business. Asked to evaluate the current status of their cyber security efforts, 55 percent of executives and 61 percent of business staff said it was completely satisfactory. Among IT staff only 35 percent are completely satisfied.

Furthermore, 91 percent of executives and business staff said there is a strong understanding of cyber security within their company. But only 78 percent of IT staff feel the same way.

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Cyber security Data security Cyber attacks
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