1E survey shows that 60 percent of businesses have experienced a serious security breach in the last two years. Issues will not subside when companies only have visibility of 64 percent of their software estate.

London, U.K. (May 2nd, 2019) – 1E, an endpoint management and security company, has today unveiled Getting Your House in Order, research findings that showcase the considerable scale of security breaches and the challenges businesses still face surrounding cyber-attacks. The research report concludes with a 10-point action plan for businesses, compiled by cybersecurity expert Michael Daniel, former Special Assistant to President Obama.

With digital transformation on the rise and technology massively outpacing policy, companies must take the lead when it comes to securing their estates. While cybersecurity has received much fanfare – with global spend predicted to exceed $1 trillion through 2021 – the biggest gaps continue to endure in plain sight.

Commissioned in partnership with Vanson Bourne, 1E’s independent study polled 600 IT decision-makers (300 from IT operations and 300 IT security). The research discovered that:

  • Over three quarters (77 percent) believe that they are not extremely well prepared to react to a serious data breach
  • Over half (60 percent) have experienced a serious security breach in the last two years – 31 percent more than once
  • Eight in ten claim digital transformation increases cyber risk
  • Fewer than a quarter (23 percent) believe that the IT operations and IT security teams work together extremely well to secure the business; nearly all (97 percent) believe that their organization would benefit from better collaboration between these teams
  • On average, respondents have visibility of 64 percent of their organization’s total software estate; only 66 percent of this software is current
  • Over three quarters (77 percent) cite that remote working will continue to be a security concern until organizations can find a way to effectively reach, patch, and secure remote workers
  • The majority of respondents demand an investment increase in areas such as software migration automation (80 percent), breach response and remediation (67 percent), and/or software patching (65 percent)

Sumir Karayi, CEO at 1E says, “Businesses are losing control of their estates because of fundamental issues such as the widening gap between IT Operations and IT Security and deferred responsibility.”

There is also a lack of understanding of where the security focus should be. While budget can easily be allocated to the sector, Karayi observes that “CIOs have the challenge of explaining the pivotal need for areas like patching, which can feel mundane. But without this hygiene, companies must constantly defend against new vulnerabilities or risk a major breach. This creates a phenomenon called the Software Arms Race, an unabated competition between exploiters and the entire software industry. Set on a continuous loop, one creates an issue, the other builds defenses.”

Experts at major companies are weighing in on these issues. Kurt De Ruwe, CIO of Signify (previously Philips Lighting) says, “IT Operations and IT Security teams must work together, agree upon aims, and create a shared toolset. When something does go wrong, don’t play the blame game. If you point a finger, there are usually three fingers pointing back. Use your collective energy to solve the problem instead.”

Looking wider, De Ruwe believes that new technology is an important way to better empower IT Operations. “Live information is really important because viruses, phishing attacks and all these things happen from moment to moment so you need to be able to react quickly. There was a time you could afford to wait a week or two before you had the information. Today real-time information makes all the difference.”

To download a full copy of the survey results, visit: https://www.1e.com/getting-your-house-in-order/

To continue the conversation, join our webinar discussion at 11:00AM ET today.

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Research methodology
1E’s survey research was conducted independently, commissioned by Vanson Bourne. Statistics were based directly from the findings of one survey, polling 300 operational IT decision-makers and 300 security IT decision-makers. Participants are based across the US and the UK.

About 1E
1E offers comprehensive self-service endpoint management and security you can trust. By responding in real-time and augmenting Microsoft and ServiceNow solutions, users are productive and happy while IT is in control and their endpoints are in a guaranteed state. 1E's solutions automate Windows 10 migrations, patching, compliance reporting and application management both in and outside the corporate network for over 1000 organizations.