The Surprising State of IT Security, Unveiled in Four Trends

Whether it’s malware or hackers or viruses, cyber threats pose significant problems for businesses and companies around the world–and rightfully so. These continue to evolve–and get smarter–making risk management a consuming task for IT teams and MSPs. There were over 400 million known malware instances in 2015 and that number is on the rise in 2016. What’s even scarier is how commonplace breaches and attacks are–almost 60% of IT teams have experienced a breach or attack at some point.

But rather than becoming more skilled at handling these threats, IT teams are more challenged by them now than ever before. And there are plenty of reasons for that. With the proliferation of devices such as laptops, smartphones and tablets, and the rise of account-based information that lives in the cloud, employees and companies are more at risk than ever–and IT teams are scrambling to keep up with rapidly changing tech behaviors.

In a recent research study, we heard from IT professionals on everything related to anti-virus and security management–their current processes, challenges, and overall take on the overwhelming task of protecting their computers and customers from threats.

Here are the top four trends that rose up most often among this group.

1. WFH: Work is not just for the office anymore.

Work is no longer defined by the four walls of the office–not for you, or your customers. Over three quarters of people have worked from home in the last six months, and that number is on the rise. But what we’ve found is that the modern IT team is not quite ready to meet these modern workplace behaviors, especially as it relates to cloud technology. Our new work habits mean we’re relying on the cloud to get our work done–anywhere, anytime. So whether you’re on the road, visiting a client, or simply working from home, you’re still connected through email, text, online chat, screen sharing, automation software, and more. That means you’re able to check on customer computers, fix an issue, even deploy updates and fill help desk tickets–no matter where you are.

2. Employee behavior is a security risk.

A company is only as strong as its least-security minded employee, yet a single bad habit opens the door to problems. So when 30% of IT professionals say apathy is the biggest threat to employee security, we understand why. Especially knowing that many employees store their passwords to critical apps and tools in spreadsheets or even on paper, or that they use the same password, or a very similar one, for work and personal accounts.

3. Many have experienced a breach.

One surprising finding is just how common breaches are. One in five people have experienced an attack or breach in the last year; and that number went up to 60% as we backed out to the past five years or more. Not surprisingly, the most common attacks are malware, followed by employee errors, which coincides with the second trend.

4. Budget, always.

This is certainly no surprise to anyone, but it all comes down to budget. Half of the people we heard from said budget was the biggest threat to the company’s security, whether it was budget to hire more IT staff, train employees or pay for anti-virus software, which is actually the leading use of security budget among this group. However, despite the increased risks and frequency of breaches, budgets aren’t going up in parallel. Three quarters of people are investing the same amount of money, or less, in security than they were in 2015. And for the majority of IT teams, only a quarter of their budget goes to security.

One way to protect your customers and their clients is through IT automation software like LogMeIn Central, where you have the control you need to remotely monitor and manage all of your computers easily and securely. Central now includes Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Windows, which allows for better insight and more control over your managed computers. Learn more about Kaspersky Lab and LogMeIn Central, and start a free trial today.

Guest blogs such as this one are published monthly and are part of MSPmentor’s annual platinum sponsorship.