Study: A Vote of Confidence for Cybersecurity

Organizations are becoming more confident in their cybersecurity practices, according to a recent market research report by CompTIA, a suburban Chicago-based trade association.

Eight out of 10 organizations surveyed for CompTIA’s State of Cybersecurity 2020 report said their cybersecurity practices are improving, although many companies acknowledge that there is still more to be done. Growing concerns about the number, scale and variety of cyberattacks, privacy considerations, a greater reliance on data and regulatory compliance are among the issues that have the attention of business and IT leaders.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been the primary trigger for revisiting security,” said Seth Robinson, senior director for technology analysis at CompTIA. “The massive shift to remote work exposed vulnerabilities in workforce knowledge and connectivity, while phishing emails preyed on new health concerns.”

The report also highlights how the “cybersecurity chain” has expanded to include upper management, boards of directors, business units and outside firms in addition to IT personnel in conversations and decisions.

Within IT teams, foundational skills such as network and endpoint security have been paired with new skills, including identity management and application security, that have become more important as cloud and mobility have taken hold. On the horizon, CompTIA expects to see skills related to security monitoring and other proactive tactics gain a bigger foothold. Examples include data analysis, threat knowledge and understanding the regulatory landscape.

The research is based on a survey of workforce professionals at 425 U.S. companies conducted in August and September 2020.

Channel Impact^®
The research suggests that while most companies are headed in the right direction, there is still a great deal of opportunity for channel partners who can further support IT security.