The cybersecurity budget of companies increased due to teleworking

Ivanti , the automation platform, has announced the results of a study that highlights the remarkable increase that the IT security budgets of companies are experiencing, as they adapt to Everywhere Workplace (place of work anywhere). A large majority of CISOs (92%) said they need to take additional security measures to improve the performance and safety of their employees when working away from the office/on the go. Four in five (80%) CISOs also mentioned the need to replace passwords with more secure forms of authentication.
The study, which surveyed 400 CISOs across the EMEA region, revealed that the average security budget last year exceeded €64 million, with 81% expecting it to increase in the next 12 months. When asked what software solutions they plan to invest in over the next year, unified endpoint management (UEM) and biometric authentication solutions were the most mentioned. Despite CISOs saying that more than two-fifths (41%) of their global security budget in the past year was spent on UEM software, four in five (80%) expect investment in specialized UEM software to increase over the next year. next year. This increased investment is primarily due to managing and securing the massive influx of devices trying to access company resources when employees telecommute.
Seven in ten (70%) CISOs said their organization’s reliance on biometric authentication to enable remote access to company data would increase, with a quarter (24%) saying the increase would be significant. The increased focus on biometric authentication is likely due to the significant growth in phishing attacks.
According to the Verizon 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report, 22% of attacks in 2019 were attributed to phishing; and in 2020, 75% of companies globally fell victim to some type of phishing attack. The main profile of data compromised in these cybercrimes was credentials, including passwords. By adopting mobile device authentication with biometrics-based access, organizations can eliminate the number one risk factor in phishing attacks. When asked how their investment in biometric authentication solutions would change from last year, 70% said it would increase, with 22% saying the increase would be significant.