We reviewed the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2022 report published by the World Economic Forum. The World Economic Forum’s team has talked with 120 global cyber leaders to make this report. The analysis results brought valuable insights into the state of cybersecurity and the current path of cyber resilience. Here are three key cybersecurity statistics and why they’re significant in today’s cybersecurity landscape.

Digital transformation and cybersecurity

81% of respondents believe that digital transformation is the key driver in developing cyber resilience.

Digital transformation seems daunting for many companies. Ever wondered why? Knowing where to begin and how to extract value from their investments are serious questions organizations must grapple with along their journey.

But, as dependence on digital technologies continues to surge at a rapid rate, so does cybercrime. And it’s where we see a major problem emerging.

When it comes to reasons for investing in new technologies, the lowest driver is ‘to secure sensitive data at risk of breach’ and it is the first indication of a problem. This suggests that the need for resources to protect against the risk of a breach isn’t being recognized. Interestingly, 21% of European businesses don’t have a cybersecurity strategy in place despite having adopted digital technologies. It means 1 in 5 European companies don’t have a coordinated way of fighting cybercrime.

Every aspect of the digital enterprise has important cybersecurity implications. As companies seek to create more digital customer experiences, they have to find out how to align their teams that manage security to develop controls, like authentication, and build secure experiences. To put it simply: the misalignment between digital transformation and cybersecurity efforts leads to missed business opportunities!

We observe that digitalization outpace cyber defenses and presents a paramount risk to businesses. Would you like to know how markets and businesses can harness digitalization opportunities to help deliver innovative solutions that benefit their customers today and also in the future? We kindly invite you to have a look at our Global Cyber Conference in Zurich, where the first key theme in our agenda will be digital transformation and cybersecurity. If you already know about this event, you can reserve your early bird ticket, be inspired by case studies from security professionals, and see the best practices in action.

Recruiting and retaining cybersecurity talent

59% of all respondents would find it difficult to respond to a cybersecurity incident because of the skills deficit within their team.

As organizations across Europe attempt to expand their digital talent pool to reap the full benefits of the digital economy, most of them will realize that there isn’t enough talent in the region. If you aren’t prioritizing recruiting or training your cybersecurity staff, then it’s time to reconsider your company’s core priorities.

Let’s be clear first: cybersecurity is a specialty, however, many workers who practice it aren’t specialists. In many companies, cybersecurity is a task built into other IT-related jobs. The message is obvious: we must continuously progress in talent cultivation. Can you imagine that 71% of employers have incurred damages because of a cyber talent deficit?

One approach to addressing workforce challenges is to transition to a new approach to cybersecurity certifications based more on practical skills and less on theoretical knowledge. Upskill your current cybersecurity workforce and check out the Cyber Security Specialist course with the Swiss Federal Diploma. You may ask, why is this important? If security professionals on your team don’t have the necessary skills, then security tasks aren’t executed optimally, which places your organization at risk. So, look at the hidden potential within your existing staff, then upskill them for new responsibilities.

The surge of ransomware

50% of respondents stated that ransomware is one of their greatest concerns regarding cyber threats.

Ransomware isn’t just financial extortion, it’s a crime that transcends business, government, and academic boundaries. The actual impacts of ransomware include interruption of key business operations because of the incapability to access data, disruption of system processes, impaired productivity, diminished business revenue, damage to the brand reputation, and loss of customers and strategic partners.

In 2021, the average ransom paid by mid-sized organizations was US$170.000. This number tells that tackling ransomware isn’t easy and there isn’t any silver-bullet for solving this challenge. Simply put, ransomware is a lucrative business for cybercriminals and we need to combat it like never before. More needs to be done to educate organizations about the critical value of advanced security measures and strategies to detect, prevent, and limit ransomware.

To develop a number of solutions that will tackle all sides of the ransomware scourge, we invited a diverse set of security leaders to the Global Cyber Conference to discuss the future state of ransomware to shed light on:

• How can organizations understand and best respond to a ransomware attack?
• What are the most significant barriers for ransomware security adoption?
• How can we make the consequence of a ransomware attack less devastating?

Be part of Switzerland’s most prominent cybersecurity event

The Global Cyber Conference brings you an agenda packed with interactive case studies on successful vendor risk assessments, roundtables on cybersecurity risk management to improve the quality of decision-making for managing risks, and expert insights on elevating security as a boardroom priority.

All delivered during a two-day event in Zurich (Switzerland), where you can meet with the VP of Cybersecurity, Chief Information Security Officers (CISO), Chief Data Officers, Threat Intelligence Analysts, and discover the solutions to secure your organization.

Pretty impressive, right? Reserve your early-bird ticket now, and become a part of a shared vision of a more secure society.