Advanced Cyberthreats a Major Challenge for majority of IT Pros - Report

In a newly released report, 62 percent of IT security professionals surveyed named advanced threat detection as their biggest cybersecurity challenge.

The 2017 Threat Monitoring, Detection and Response Report, a full summary of the survey, was produced by ControlScan, a provider of managed security and compliance solution, in partnership with Crowd Research Partners.The reportsheds light on the various aspects of security threat management, a press release said.

"This new research report is timely, because it shows that organizations are missing important opportunities to detect cybersecurity threats before they become business disruptors," ControlScan CEO Mark Carl said in the release. "A big part of the problem is that in-house IT teams lack the necessary manpower and, in many cases, the specialized knowledge to effectively defend against today's attacks."

The report points to specific organizational shortcomings. For example:
- nearly half (49 percent) do not employ people with the necessary cybersecurity skills and training;
- only 39 percent are using an advanced endpoint security solution to combat ransomware;
- about one-quarter (23 percent) admit they have no idea how long it would take their organization to recover from a cyberattack; and
- just 10 percent leverage threat intelligence to educate their general workforce.

"A lack of advanced security staff, low security awareness among employees, and slow speed of threat response are leaving organizations vulnerable," said Holger Schulze, founder of the Information Security Community on LinkedIn. "The cybersecurity threat landscape is rapidly advancing and organizations must shore up their threat management efforts to effectively address it."