This data sheet reveals the APAC market key findings from Forcepoint’s worldwide study, The Human Point: An Intersection of Behaviours, Intent & Data, which was compiled with the input of 1,250 cybersecurity professionals
- The “network” boundaries are fast eroding; with further growth in use of public & private cloud services, BYOD and removable media, cyber and IT professionals are required to rethink the definition of a network.
- Around 38% of APAC businesses now use a private cloud service to store and access critical data, with more than a quarter (26%) using BYOD devices, 20% using a public cloud service and 26% using removable media.
- The increasing use of BYOD and corporate policies that allow use of social media has created a new cause for concern among cyber professionals.
- A large 65% of businesses are extremely or very concerned by “co-mingling” of personal and business applications on devices, the remainder (35%) are only moderately or slightly concerned.
- The visibility of organisations is now wildly challenged, as data sprawls across company-owned, employee-owned and hosted applications (enterprise and consumer).
- Only 6% of APAC businesses have extremely good visibility over how employees are using critical business data across company owned devices, employee-owned devices, company approved services (e.g., Exchange) and employee services (e.g., Google Drive, Gmail).
- Around 51% only have moderate or slight visibility of critical business data. A majority 37% of respondents ranked email as the greatest risk to their critical business data, followed by social media, mobile devices and laptops; greatest trust was put on 3rd party on-premise apps, with only 7% ranking it as their number one cause for concern.
- From malicious – such as malware – to accidental, such as inadvertent user behaviours - organisations are grappling with a range of people-based actions that can present a security risk
APAC cybersecurity-professionals rank malware as the number one risk to security (30%), closely followed by inadvertent human behaviour (24%), criminal employee activity (10%) and rogue employees (12%).
- Technology investments – and big data - have fallen short.
- Only 18% of APAC businesses are in strong agreement that applying more technology will help improve business security.
- Only 34% of businesses are incorporating big data into their security management approach, while 29% currently view big data as a hindrance to securing their organisation.
- Cybersecurity professional agree that it’s critical to understand the behaviours and intent of people as they interact with IP and other business data – but few are able to gain such insight.
- Around 74% of APAC businesses recognise the critical importance of understanding employees behaviours and intent from a security perspective
- However, more than 60% don’t believe they are very effective at understanding the behavior and intent of people as they interact with business data
- Businesses currently leave themselves exposed to the threat posed by employees acting within the network, with 61% not confident about recongising anomalous or suspicious actions inside a network
- Looking ahead, cybersecurity professionals in APAC see clear benefits – financial and operational – in focusing on users and behaviours as a centerpiece of a cybersecurity strategy.
- 74% of APAC businesses Strongly Agree or Agree that focusing more on human behaviour will help improve security results and costs. No business disagrees.
Forcepoint conducted a study of 1,252 cybersecurity professionals worldwide in January 2017. This datasheet draws out the findings from APAC respondents only (n=182). These APAC wide cybersecurity professionals range from C-Level technology and information officers through to senior IT engineers and decision-makers and represent a diverse range of industries, from utilities, retail and construction, through to legal, government and finance. The full spectrum of business sizes was included, from small (<100 employees) through to large (>25,000 employees).
About Forcepoint
Forcepoint is transforming cybersecurity by focusing on what matters most: understanding people’s intent as they interact with critical data and intellectual property wherever it resides. Our uncompromising systems enable companies to empower employees with unobstructed access to confidential data while protecting intellectual property and simplifying compliance. Based in Austin, Texas, Forcepoint supports more than 20,000 organizations worldwide. For more about Forcepoint, visit www.Forcepoint.com and follow us on Twitter at @ForcepointSec.
