Aussie orgs unprepared for data breaches

More than three in five (61%) Australian organisations have experienced a data breach over the past two years, according to research from the Ponemon Institute.

A survey of security and IT professionals around the world, commissioned by IBM Resilient, found that Australia was the second least resilient country out of the markets covered in the survey.

The research found that 71% of Australian respondents had experienced the theft or loss of 1000 or more sensitive records, well above the global average of 55%.

Australia also recorded the biggest rise in cybersecurity incidents globally of the markets covered over the past 12 months, with 70% of respondents reporting an increase.

Factors contributing to Australian organisations’ greater vulnerability include a lack of preparedness to properly respond to cybersecurity incidents.

The survey found that 79% of Australian respondents indicated that they still do not have a cybersecurity incident response plan in place that is applied consistently across the enterprises. And of those who do have a plan in place, more than half (51%) do not test their plans.

“Failing to plan is a plan to fail when it comes to responding to a cybersecurity incident. These plans need to be stress tested regularly and need full support from the board to invest in the necessary people, processes and technologies to sustain such a program,” said IBM Resilient VP of Product Management and Co-Founder Ted Julian.

“When proper planning is paired with investments in automation, we see companies able to save millions of dollars during a breach.”

The survey was completed by more than 3600 security and IT professionals from markets including the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Brazil, Australia, Middle East and Asia–Pacific.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Brian Jackson

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