US Executives Experience Cybersecurity Threats Without Incident Response Plans

A new survey published by Deloitte indicates that the common consequences of cyberattacks are disruption, share price drops, and theft. Another survey shows that a majority of US executives experienced a cybersecurity breach; however, these incidents don’t translate into implementing incident response plans. The survey, taken between June 6 and August 24, 2021, included responses from 577 C-suite executives worldwide, with 159 from the United States, on today’s cybersecurity threats. According to the research, insights from those in leadership roles indicate that 98% of US executives and 84% of international executives have encountered at least one cyberattack over the past year.

Impact of Having Incident Response Plans

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the increase in cybersecurity incidents and severely impaired companies in the United States. 86% of US executives and 63% of international industry leaders have noticed numerous attempts to breach their security network. With the increasing threats of cyberattacks, US companies are falling behind in implementing security defense and incident response plans. 14% of US executives and 6% of non-US executives have no incident response plans in place. The challenges companies face when it comes to workable cybersecurity plans are data management issues, infrastructure complexities, keeping up with advanced security technologies, and issues with prioritizing cybersecurity.

Companies in the first half of 2021 have suffered severe business disruptions caused by numerous security incidents including the Microsoft Exchange Server breach, the ransomware attacks on JBS and Colonial Pipeline, and the DDoS attack against KT. While most companies view malware, phishing, or data breaches as their top concern, only 27% of US executives were more concerned with the actions of their employees who might have accidentally created vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit. According to the research, 41% of companies have developed solutions to track and monitor the risk factors involving staff access and behavior. The research indicates that companies experience several common consequences after a cyber incident including disruption (28%), a drop in share value (24%), intellectual property theft (22%), and reputation damage resulting in customers losing trust (22%). Additionally, a cyberattack could result in changing leadership roles, which is 23% of those cases.

Deborah Golden, Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory Cyber and Strategic Risk leader and principal, commented, “No CISO or CSO ever wants to tell organizational stakeholders that efforts to manage cyber risk aren’t keeping up with the speed of digital transformations made, or bad actors’ improving tactics. Aggressive organizational digital transformations and continued remote work for some seem to be shining more of a spotlight on the human side of cyber events — both the cyber talent gap and the potential risk well-meaning employees can pose. We see leading organizations turning to advanced technologies to help bridge those gaps.”

With the possibility of more cyberattacks in the second half of 2021, it’s crucial for companies to stay current with the latest cyber threats and implement incident response measures to avoid business disruption. At SpearTip, we are the trusted provider of breach coaches and carriers everywhere offering companies pre-breach and advisory services. Our Security Operations Centers (SOCs) are staffed with certified engineers working 24/7 to continuously monitor any incident and respond at a moment’s notice. With one of the fastest response times in the industry, SpearTip will neutralize the breach and quickly reclaim your network.

If your company is experiencing a breach, call our Security Operations Centers at 833.997.7327 to speak directly with an engineer.