Enterprises not prepared for advanced cyber threats: Study

One in five organisations (21 percent) have experienced an advanced persistent threat (APT) attack, and 66 percent believe it’s only a matter of time before their enterprise is hit by an APT, according to a global study of 1,220 security professionals conducted by ISACA. Yet only 15 percent of enterprises believe they are very prepared for an APT attack. And among the companies that have been attacked, only one in three could determine the source.

“APTs are stealthy, relentless and single-minded, and their primary purpose is to extract information such as valuable research, intellectual property or government data,” said Tony Hayes from ISACA.
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“In other words, it is absolutely critical for enterprises to prepare for them, and that preparation requires more than the traditional technical controls.”

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The majority of responding organisations say their primary APT defense is technical controls such as firewalls, access lists and anti-virus, which are critical for defending against traditional treats, but not sufficient for preventing APT attacks.

Nearly 40 percent of enterprises report that they are not using user security training and controls to defend against APTs-a critical component of a successful cybersecurity plan. Worse yet, more than 70 percent are not using mobile controls, even though 88 percent of respondents recognise that employees’ mobile devices are often the gateway to an APT attack.

While more enterprises report that they are adjusting vendor management practices (23 percent) and incident response plans (56 percent) to address APTs this year, the numbers still need significant improvement.
“The good news is that more enterprises are attempting to better prepare for the APT this year,” said Robert Stroud, international president of ISACA. “The bad news is that there is still a big knowledge gap regarding APTs and how to defend against them-and more security training is critically needed.”

“India is amongst the fastest growing internet driven economies, and with this growth come more persistent cyber threats. Advanced persistent threats represent complex, gradual attack techniques, not routinely detectable, that are challenging complacent and outdated security approaches,” said Vittal Raj, International vice president of ISACA. “Countering APTs demands renewed approaches to cybersecurity that businesses need to consider, protecting their organisations against such threats.”