Chief Information Security Officers are becoming increasingly worried about the possibility of their companies experiencing a cyberattack in 2018, according to a recent survey commissioned by cybersecurity firm Opus and the Ponemon Institute.
The survey asked 612 CISOs, CIOs and other information security professionals from a range of industries about their concerns of a cyberattack.
Here are seven things to know.
1. Nearly 67 percent of respondents believe their companies are more likely to suffer from a cyberattack or data breach in 2018.
2. About 60 percent of respondents are even more concerned about a data breach from a third party, such as their partner or vendor.
3. Most respondents (69 percent) think their roles will be even more stressful in 2018, and 45 percent worry a data breach could cost them their jobs.
4. Respondents said the No. 1 security threat facing their companies is human factor, with 70 percent of CISOs citing "lack of competent in-house staff" as their top concern and 65 percent citing "inadequate in-house expertise" as the primary reason they are likely to experience a breach.
5. About 65 percent of respondents are concerned about the chance of credential theft resulting from employees falling for phishing email scams.
6. Respondents cited inability to protect sensitive and confidential data from unauthorized access (59 percent); inability to keep up with the sophistication of the attackers (56 percent); and failure to control third parties' use of sensitive data (51 percent) as likely reasons for data breaches.
7. Respondents are concerned about disruptive technologies, adding that internet of things devices (60 percent) are most challenging to secure, followed by mobile devices (54 percent) and cloud technology (50 percent).
More articles on cybersecurity:
5 things a CMIO should be thinking about with University Health System's CMIO Dr. Maulik Purohit
Health IT movers and shakers: 20 latest leadership changes affecting health IT