Senior executives at UK firms may be overconfident about their cybersecurity protection, according to a new survey conducted by research and consultancy firm Ovum for Silicon Valley analytics firm FICO.
A total of 56% of executives from UK firms said they were better prepared than their competitors, and about half of these executives said their firm was a top performer. UK respondents were more likely to rate their firms as above average than respondents from other countries, including the US.
Telecommunications providers were the most confident of all. A full 84% of respondents said they were better prepared than their competitors, with 42% calling their firm a top performer. Financial services institutions were more realistic, with just 46% of respondents believing their firm is above average, and only 17% saying it is a top performer.
In addition, only 33% of UK respondents said their firms use an outside source to benchmark their security.
“It is reasonable to assume that a lack of objective measurement is helping to give firms an optimistic view of their cybersecurity situation,” said Steve Hadaway, FICO general manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“For example, we also found that only 41% of UK firms surveyed have a tested data breach response plan, compared to 52% in the US. There’s nothing wrong with thinking you’re doing better than the next guy, unless it leads to complacency and a lack of investment, and our survey clearly showed that more investment is needed.”
Ovum conducted the survey for FICO through telephone interviews with 350 CXOs and senior security officers in the US, Canada, the UK and the Nordics in March and April 2017. Respondents represented firms in financial services, telecommunications, retail, e-commerce and media service providers.
FICO’s solutions for cybersecurity include the FICO® Enterprise Security Score, which firms use to benchmark their own cybersecurity posture as well as that of vendors and partners.
For more survey information click here.
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