Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, said new research reveal that while global organisations plan to increase cybersecurity budgets in 2023, 90 percent of African companies have neglected to put cybersecurity protocols in place1.
Zaheer Ebrahim, MEA at Trend Micro says that “Organisations would do well to reconsider the importance of cybersecurity, especially if they want to optimise their investments in this area. According to him Cybersecurity isn’t just about keeping data and other related resources safe. It has a clear impact on winning new business and recruiting top talent. With this in mind, it is vital that we change perceptions around cybersecurity, especially amongst corporate leaders.”
He lamented that inadequate cybersecurity measures are placing enormous cost on businesses in South Africa, in Kenya it stands at $36million; while figures in Nigeria and South Africa stand at $500million and $570million respectively.
Trend Micro’s research shows that these costs affect various areas. The research also indicated that a fifth or 19 per cent of the global Business Decision Makers (BDMs) surveyed in the company’s research admitted that a lack of security measures has impacted their ability to win new business, while 81 per cent worry that it will do so in future. This comes as nearly three-quarters or 71 percent of BDMs admit they’re being asked about security posture in negotiations with prospects and suppliers. And 78 per cent say these requests for information are increasing in frequency.
This apparent contradiction in attitudes is laid bare by another finding which stated that despite prospects and suppliers clearly prioritizing security in negotiations, only 57percent of BDMs perceive there to be a strong or very strong connection between cyber and client acquisition or satisfaction.
Talent acquisition is another area where there are clear gaps in BDMs’ understanding of the interconnectivity between cybersecurity and the rest of the business.
Nearly three-quarters or 71 percent of respondents claim that the ability to work from anywhere has become vital in the battle for talent. Yet only around two-fifths understand the strong connection between cybersecurity and employee retention is 42 per cent and talent attraction 43 percent but despite respondents recognising the impact of cyber on the employee experience, 83 percent say current security policies have affected remote employees’ ability to do their jobs eg. Network and information access issues, and slowing the pace of work.
In similar circumstances 43 per cent say current security policies place restrictions on employees’ ability to work from anywhere at 54 per cent.
These findings point to BDMs’ lack of understanding of the relationship between cybersecurity and other parts of the organisation.
Report say this is borne out of further statistics where half of respondents in the realm of 51 per cent claim cybersecurity is a necessary cost but not a revenue contributor, while a similar share 48 percent argue that its value is limited to attack/threat prevention. Incidentally nearly a fifth or 38 percent see security as a barrier rather than a business enabler.
In spite of misperceptions around the impact of cybersecurity on the business in its entirety, nearly two-thirds or 64 percent of BDMs say they plan to increase security investment in 2023; a sign that industry sentiment may be changing.
The above report is based on a commissioned report by Trend Micro to Sapio Research to poll 2718 business decision-makers in companies with 250 plus employees across 26 countries.