Most firms failing in IT security drills

The majority of companies are taking a chance on cyber security by failing to perform IT security drills on a consistent basis, according to a new survey.

At the same time, almost all firms realise the damage that could potentially occur in their company from cyber attacks.

The survey, which was conducted by Lieberman Software Corporation at this year’s Black Hat Conference, assessed the approaches to such drills by questioning close to 150 cyber security professionals. The results saw that 92% of respondents believe IT security drills to be an effective method of preparing for incidents of cyber crime.

However, 63% confessed that their  firms fail to conduct these drills and if they do, it only happens once per year.

Further, 11% of firms conduct the drills four times per year, while 26% conduct them twice per year.

Lieberman Software CEO Philip Lieberman said:

“In today’s threat landscape, organisations are attacked continuously. With this in mind, you would think companies would be doing everything they can to limit the damage of potential cyber attacks. However, our study reveals this clearly isn’t the case. And IT teams are fully aware of the consequences.”

It is surprising that so many organisations still rank cyber security to be so low on the priority chain. Recent high-profile scandals, such as those at Sony and Ashley Madison, are just two examples of the kind of effects cyber crime can have on a company. Businesses that do not prioritize their IT security recruitment activities may soon find themselves on the wrong end of such an attack.