CISO fears of cyber insecurity are back, report finds

CISOs enjoyed a brief respite from the sky falling in the immediate post-pandemic era, but the sense of danger from ever-increasing cyberattacks has returned.

That’s according to a new Proofpoint survey of 1,600+ CISOs across 16 different countries, which found that security threats are as bad as ever.

No relief. Proofpoint Global Resident CISO Lucia Milică Stacy said in the introduction to this year’s survey that last year, “with most pandemic disruption overcome, CISOs for a brief time appeared to feel a sense of calm, composure and confidence in their security posture.”

“Astoundingly, that feeling has already vanished, replaced by elevated concern,” Stacy said.

Unfortunately, the numbers show that last year’s sense of relief was an anomaly. This year, 68% of CISOs polled feel at risk of a material cyber attack, close to 2021’s 64%—but a jump from 2022’s 48%. Preparedness follows the same pattern: 61% of CISOs this year feel unprepared for an attack, similar to 66% in 2021 and a jump from 2022’s 50%.

Danger, danger. A surge in ransomware attacks and sophisticated hacking attacks has added to the panic. Ryan Kalember, Proofpoint EVP of cybersecurity strategy, said in a statement that data loss—attributed in the report partly to high turnover amidst the economic uncertainty of the past year—is contributing to the problem.

CISOs need to “remain steadfast,” Kalember said.

“If recent devastating attacks are any indication, CISOs have an even tougher road ahead, especially given the precarious security budgets and new job pressures,” Kalember said. “Now that they have returned to elevated levels of concern, CISOs must ensure they focus on the right priorities to move their organizations toward cyber resilience.”