Just Half of Firms Have Sufficient Cybersecurity Budget

Only 49% of organizations based in EMEA and the US believe they have sufficient budget to meet their current needs, with many claiming funding may actually decrease in 2023, according to Neustar Security Services.

The cloud security vendor polled senior IT and security professionals from six markets across the US and EMEA to better understand their cyber-risk challenges.

It found budget to be a pressing concern, with over one in 10 (11%) respondents claiming they only had enough to protect their most critical assets.

More than a third (35%) admitted that budgets would stay flat or decline in 2023, potentially exposing their organization as a result.

Even though the vast majority of respondents (83%) said their C-suite understands the gravity of the current threat landscape, 69% are concerned that budgetary challenges are restricting the deployment of new strategies and technologies.

These concerns are particularly acute at a time when ransomware (75%), phishing (74%), DDoS (72%), targeted hacking (71%) and social engineering (71%) attacks are perceived to be on the rise.

Respondents assessed the biggest threat to their security posture as the increased sophistication of attacks, cited by 60%. Other top concerns were listed as an increase in attacker activity (54%), budget constraints (35%) and an expanding attack surface (35%).

SVP of solutions at Neustar, Carlos Morales, argued that IT and security teams have been tasked over recent years with leading digital initiatives against a backdrop of skills shortages, more sophisticated attacks and a growing attack surface.

“With mounting budget pressures, IT and security teams are once again being asked to do more with less, which will likely accelerate the adoption of service-based offerings that allow enterprises to flexibly scale up resources based on demand,” he added.

“While cost may be the driver, technology leaders must carefully consider what value potential offerings can deliver to ensure maximum impact to the organization.”