The Handelsblatt Research Institute conducted a survey of IT decision-makers at the Cybersecurity 2021 annual conference on behalf of TeamViewer: One in five companies is poorly prepared for attacks.
A significant proportion of IT management personnel in German-speaking countries believe that their own company is not sufficiently protected against cyber attacks. More than a fifth (21%) of all participants surveyed at the “Handelsblatt Annual Cybersecurity 2021 Conference” stated that their company was “rather poorly” prepared for a targeted cyber attack. The survey was conducted during the event by the Handelsblatt Research Institute on behalf of TeamViewer among the around 200 high-calibre IT decision-makers who took part.
Hybrid forms of work increase the attack surface
How much has the risk of an attack increased? (Image: Team Viewer).
Almost half (45%) of respondents said their organization had had to respond to a cyberattack in the past 24 months. 52 percent also see an increased need for action due to the switch to hybrid working models and the associated strong or very strong increase in the attack surface for cyber attacks, for example when employees work outside the company network.
Social engineering recognized as a danger
From the point of view of IT decision-makers, employees remain the most important gateway: 81 percent of those surveyed named social engineering as the most relevant access route for cyber attacks. Especially with regard to remote work models, it is therefore even more important for companies to protect their own infrastructure and company resources - for example by assigning separate roles and rights - against corresponding attacks in addition to regular employee training.
91 percent improved security
Despite these challenges, security experts remain optimistic. Nine in ten (91%) survey respondents say the level of cybersecurity at their organization has improved over the past year.
How are companies attacked (Image: Teamviewer).
Mike Eissele, CTO at TeamViewer: “The survey shows the great importance that cybersecurity has across all industries and that innovations in this environment must also take the users of the devices into account. IT and product security are part of our TeamViewer DNA. In product development, we follow a 'security-by-design' approach, in which remote connectivity and cybersecurity are always considered together. With our end-to-end encrypted connections and extensive security features such as conditional access, companies can centrally administer the access rights of their employees and at the same time are protected against attacks from outside.”
Background information on the survey
On behalf of TeamViewer, the Handelsblatt Research Institute conducted a live survey among the participating IT decision-makers at the Cybersecurity 2021 annual conference in November, who work for German federal authorities, international cybersecurity companies and DAX companies, among others. About 24 percent of the approximately 200 participants took part in the live survey and the participants were able to give their assessment of the threat situation, risk factors and challenges related to cybersecurity.
More at Teamviewer.com
About TeamViewer As a global technology company and leading provider of a connectivity platform, TeamViewer enables remote access, control, management, monitoring and repair of devices of all kinds - from laptops and cell phones to industrial machines and robots. In addition to the large number of private users for whom the software is offered free of charge, TeamViewer has more than 500.000 paying customers and supports companies of all sizes and from all industries in digitizing business-critical processes through the seamless networking of devices. Against the background of global megatrends such as the rapid spread of internet-enabled devices, increasing process automation and new, location-independent forms of work, TeamViewer has set itself the goal of proactively shaping digital change and continuously developing new technologies such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things for product innovations to use.