In a context of increasing cyber threats, Bitdefender, a global leader in cybersecurity, has released its 2024 Cybersecurity Assessment Report. This report, based on a survey of 1,200 IT and security professionals, highlights the main concerns and challenges that organizations around the world are facing.
Rise of Generative AI as a Threat
The report reveals that 96% of respondents consider generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to be a significant threat to cybersecurity. More than a third of them (36%) highlight the use of GenAI to create misleading content, such as deepfakes, as a major concern. However, 74% are confident in their team’s ability to detect deepfake attacks, showing apparent confidence in their defense skills.
Increase in Data Leaks
More than half of the respondents (57%) reported experiencing a data breach or leak in the last 12 months, representing a 6% increase from the previous year. The UK leads with 73.5% of reported incidents, followed by Germany with 61%, while Singapore experienced the lowest number of leaks at 33%.
Work Pressure in the Security Sector
64.3% of security professionals expressed their intention to seek a new job in the next year, a significant increase of 25% compared to the previous year. Additionally, 70.2% of respondents indicated that they work on weekends due to security concerns, with the UK having the highest number of affected professionals (81%).
Cloud Challenges
Identity and access management (IAM) and compliance are the main challenges in the cloud, with 38.7% and 38% of respondents, respectively, highlighting them as their main concerns. Shadow IT and configuration errors were also mentioned as significant challenges. Only 44.6% conduct regular audits and assessments to monitor risk in cloud infrastructure, both in bare-metal solutions, private cloud, and public cloud.
Increase in Phishing Attack Sophistication
More than 74% of respondents have noticed an increase in the sophistication of phishing attacks, possibly correlated with the growing use of GenAI. In France, the United States, and Germany, GenAI is seen as a greater threat than ransomware.
Adoption of Managed Security Services
24×7 cybersecurity coverage and access to highly skilled professionals are the main reasons for using managed detection and response (MDR) services. 93% of respondents plan to increase investment in proactive cybersecurity measures, with Singapore being the most inclined to this investment (97%).
Compliance and Data Regulations
28% of respondents consider compliance and data regulations to be the biggest challenge with current security solutions. Expanding capabilities across multiple environments and incompatibility with other security solutions are also highlighted concerns.
The Bitdefender 2024 Cybersecurity Assessment Report underscores the need for robust and proactive cybersecurity that combines prevention, protection, detection, and response. With the rise of AI-driven threats and increasing data leaks, companies must adapt and strengthen their cybersecurity strategies to mitigate risks and protect their infrastructure.
Data Sources
The survey, commissioned by Bitdefender and conducted by Censuswide, included 1,202 IT and security professionals in companies with 1,000 or more employees, spanning various sectors and industries. For more information, the full report is available on the Bitdefender website.