Intrusion: 52% of IT decision-makers report experiencing a data breach in the past

A majority (52%) of IT/Security decision-makers report having experienced a data breach at their organization sometime in the past, according to a report commissioned by Intrusion. The report summarized survey findings of 450 IT Security decisionmakers at enterprises conducted by Amplitude Research in July and concluded that while IT budget allocations are significant for cybersecurity products and respondents have confidence in their plans, teams, and products, they still regularly suffer data breaches.

When asked if their organization has sufficient protection from outside threats to their networks and from inside threats such as call-homes, respondents answered, “yes, definitely” 47% and 58% of the time, respectively. (A “call-home” is when malware on a device tries to connect with a command-and-control server to get updates or instructions.)

Among those who rated both their cybersecurity team and software, services, tools, etc. as “Very Effective,” 61% were still “Very Concerned” about cyberattacks threatening their organization. When asked which — staff or solutions — was most critical for effective defense against cyberattacks at their organization, 28% favored the cybersecurity team, while 19% favored their product mix. Slightly more than half felt that both were equally important.

Perhaps the most glaring statistic in the report: 80% reported that security analysts at their organization spend time trying to resolve false-positive alerts. Nearly half (47%) said it is standard practice to ignore 50% or more of alerts provided by their cybersecurity solutions.

Virtually every day we wake up to a new headline of a successful cyberattack impacting every facet of our lives,” said INTRUSION Chief Evangelist Gary Davis. “If you’re in charge of IT security at any sized company, getting a good night’s sleep may be a problem. With leaders fretting over the effectiveness of their teams and technologies things could get dramatically worse as those asked to work at home during the COVID-19 pandemic make their way back to the office with all their devices.”

Continued Davis, “with 52% of IT/Security decision-makers reporting a data breach at their organization sometime in the past, we feel that those at the tip of the spear for their IT security can and should feel confident that they can effectively protect their company from being tomorrow’s headline.”

Intrusion commissioned Amplitude Research, Inc. to conduct a web survey about cybersecurity at organizations in the U.S.  To qualify for the survey, respondents had to indicate that they are involved in decisions about IT security and Internet security at their organization. Also, when it comes to decisions about IT security purchases, services, design, set-up, and/or administration for IT security / Internet security at their organization, respondents were required to be a primary or final decisionmaker (76% of respondents), co-decision-maker (15%), or influencer of decisions (9%).  The survey was completed by 450 qualified respondents in July of 2021.

Read the full report by Intrusion.