Six in ten global businesses purchasing cybersecurity insurance: report

Nearly six in ten global businesses (59%) are purchasing cybersecurity insurance to help mitigate the impact of cybercrimes when they do occur, according to a survey released last week.

The Global State of Information Security® Survey 2016, a worldwide survey by CIO, CSO and PwC, was conducted earlier this year by PwC and the two resources published by IDG Enterprise, a subsidiary of International Data Group, a media, events and research company. [click image below to enlarge]

The results are based on responses from more than 10,000 executives, including CEOs, chief financial officers, CISOs, vice presidents and IT directors, among others, from more 127 countries. A total of 37% of respondents were from North America, 30% from Europe, 16% from Asia Pacific, 14% from South America, and 3% from the Middle East and Africa. The margin of error is less than 1%, PwC said in a statement.

While the vast majority of surveyed organizations – 91% – have adopted a cybersecurity framework, only 54% have a chief information security officer (CSIO) in charge of the company’s IT program, the report said. Of the 54%, the most frequently cited reporting structure is the CEO, chief information officer, board and chief technology officer, in that order. Forty-five per cent of boards participate in the overall security strategy, the report added. [click image below to enlarge]

Other findings included:

• 69% of respondents said they use cloud-based security services to help protect sensitive data and ensure privacy and the protection of consumer information;

• 59% of respondents reported leveraging Big Data to improve cybersecurity;

• 57% of respondents have adopted mobile payments systems, “but the ecosystem continues to rapidly evolve as new partnerships are formed among a constellation of technology, financial, retail and telecommunications firms”;

• Only 36% of survey respondents have a strategy specifically addressing the Internet of Things; and

• Respondents boosted information security spending significantly, reversing last year’s slight drop in security spending. In 2015, respondents reported boosting their information security budgets by 24%.

“We are seeing more of what we once saw as a risk, being turned into possible solutions,” said David Burg, PwC’s global and US advisory cybersecurity leader, in the statement. “For example, many organizations are embracing advanced authentication as a cloud service in place of solely password based authentication.”