More than half of India’s organisations don’t have up-to-date cyber security plans for fighting vulnerabilities posed by remote working during Covid, a survey has found. Barracuda Networks, a provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today released key findings from a report titled ‘Brave the New Normal: How companies in India are overcoming security challenges in a remote workplace.”
The research revealed that 53 per cent of organisations surveyed in India do not have an up-to-date security strategy or solutions covering all the vulnerabilities posed by remote working. While 71 per cent admitted that security has taken a back seat in the shift to this mode of working. The market report was commissioned by Barracuda and conducted by an independent research firm Censuswide in July 2020, among 1,055 business decision-makers in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and India.
The corporates were surveyed to gain insights into their current mindset about the future of work trends resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. The report noted that 62 per cent of Indian organisations cut their cybersecurity budgets to save costs as they responded to the pandemic. In addition, 42 per cent lacked IT resources or time to upgrade their IT infrastructure in the shift to a remote working model.
The report added that 66 per cent of organisations reported at least one data breach or cybersecurity incident since shifting to remote working, with 67 per cent reporting that employees had experienced an increase in email phishing attacks. About 70 per cent were concerned about unknown threats that will cause business disruption in the next six months.
According to the report, 61 per cent of respondents said their employees were not properly trained in the cyber risks associated with remote working. In addition, 54 per cent were not confident in the security of their web applications, which is another major target for malicious third parties seeking to access corporate data.
However, 85 per cent believe that cross-industry collaboration is key to improving security standards. 92 per cent said that they will need to upgrade their IT infrastructure to improve visibility and productivity. The report mentioned that 87 per cent plan to provide improved online cybersecurity training and awareness for remote working staff.
Murali Urs, Country Manager India, Barracuda Networks said in the official release: “While organisations are riding a wave of digital transformation to support the shift to remote working, many have been impacted by major security concerns that have emerged.”
He added: “Despite this, security has taken a back seat in many organisations due to budget and resource constraints. Threat protection must get the attention it deserves to avoid causing reputational and financial damage at a time when most companies can least afford it.”