Eighty-five percent of security professionals believe cybersecurity threats will lead to an attack on major critical infrastructure over the next five years, according to a recent survey. The annual Pwnie Express study, The Internet of Evil Things, polled approximately 500 security professionals about a range of cybersecurity threats, including malware and devices connected as part of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Cybersecurity vs. Online Evil
The research looked at the variety of industry sectors that might be least prepared for an attack. Health care topped the list at 51 percent — but was followed closely by the waste and wastewater sectors (47 percent) and the energy sector (43 percent).
Security professionals may be predicting major attacks on critical infrastructure because they’re already dealing with so many issues in their own organizations. Malware attacks affected 59 percent of those polled, for example. Additionally, 32 percent were impacted by ransomware. More serious cybersecurity threats — specifically distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks — struck 30 percent.
Security Professionals Still Lack the Right Tools
Perhaps more worryingly, security professionals suggested they aren’t necessarily strengthening their defenses — even after grappling directly with some of the most serious cybersecurity threats. While WannaCry affected 21 percent of those surveyed, for instance, approximately 18 percent said they still lack the tools to deal with the ransomware cryptoworm. Fourteen percent weren’t sure one way or the other. There were similar findings about other well-known malware and ransomware strains, including NotPetya, Locky and Mirai.
The gaps between the risks and the capability to deal with them weren’t limited to specific malware — it spread to entire areas of data protection. While a majority of 80 percent said they are concerned about cybersecurity threats as a result of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies in the workplace, less than half said they had real-time monitoring tools for personal devices.
About the same percentage said they were worried about the risk inherent in IoT-connected smart devices, but only 23 percent claimed to be keeping track of such devices effectively. Overall, while 64 percent said they are more concerned about the security of connected devices than they were last year, the authors said there was no improvement in the frequency at which they’re checking them.