31 October 2024

The results of the 2024 Kaseya Security Survey are in and, overwhelmingly, IT professionals reported user behaviour as their biggest cybersecurity challenge.

Another important finding relates to the widespread adoption of AI by both threat actors and defenders. The survey found that feelings are mixed as IT professionals learn to navigate this new industry game-changer. The results of the survey are featured in the Cybersecurity Survey Report 2024: Navigating the New Frontier of Cyber Challenges.

“Cybersecurity attacks are widespread and more sophisticated, and as a result, are shaping business and IT strategies,” said Chris McKie, VP, Product Marketing-Security at Kaseya. “IT professionals are navigating this new frontier as they try to find a balance between cybersecurity needs against hybrid workforces, dependency on cloud-based applications and services, and the role of artificial intelligence in cyberattacks.”

89% of respondents cited a lack of training or bad user behaviour as their main cybersecurity problem. User-related security issues cause the most distress for IT professionals with poor user practices and gullibility (45%) and lack of end-user cybersecurity training (44%) as the root causes for cybersecurity problems. When asked which cybersecurity issues have impacted their business, phishing ranked first at 58%, followed by computer viruses or malware at 44% and business email compromise at 34%.

Cybercriminals are leveraging advances in AI technology to launch more sophisticated cyberattacks at a faster pace than ever before. However, its role in cybersecurity is highly debated with critics questioning its current limitations and ever-evolving cybercriminal tactics. More than half of survey participants say they believe AI will help them be more secure. But one-third of the IT professionals surveyed said they’re unsure about the impact AI may have on their company’s security. More research and clarity around the benefits and limitations of AI as a cybersecurity tool is needed.

According to the survey, the most widely adopted cybersecurity frameworks are NIST (40%) and Zero Trust (36%). There is a trend in rising security maturity in response to increasingly sophisticated threats. Respondents have rigorously implemented an array of security solutions with antivirus software (87%), email/spam protection (79%), and file backup (70%) topping the list. Three out of five respondents have an incident response (IR) plan in place – but follow-through is needed. Only 37% of those surveyed reported that they confirm the efficacy of their plan with periodic drills, down from 46% last year.