Businesses Need New Protection Solutions

Businesses urgently need a sustainable, cost-effective cyber protection solution that can reduce complexity and enhance security. This is the conclusion that can be drawn from the Acronis Cyber Readiness Report 2020, conducted during the pandemic, which reveals gaps in IT security and the need for new protection solutions for businesses

The Acronis Cyber Readiness Report 2020 was carried out among 3,400 companies and teleworkers from around the world (17 countries including Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Japan, THE United States…) in the wake of the pandemic (COVID-19). It reveals that 92% of the companies surveyed have indeed adopted new technologies that facilitate telework, including collaborative tools, as well as solutions for preserving the confidentiality and cybersecurity of terminals.

The report shows that teleworkers are mainly targeted by phishing attacks, distributed denial of service (DDoS) or video conferencing apps.

Phishing attacks are growing like never before, which is not surprising considering that only 2% of companies consider URL filtering when evaluating a cybersecurity solution. This neglect exposes teleworkers to phishing sites.

39% of the companies surveyed were targeted by a videoconferencing attack in the previous three months in the context of using zoom, Cisco Webex, and Microsoft Teams apps.

Acronis Cyber Protection Centres (CPOC) found that 35% of malware attacks were able to fool companies’ defenses

And in Canada, here are the three main challenges facing companies:

The main challenges identified by remote workers: Wi-Fi connectivity, the use of VPNs and other security measures, and the inability to use internal networks and applications. “The use of VPN and other security measures” and the “inability to use internal networks and applications” were reported as the other main challenges (30% and 25% respectively), with the highest concentrations coming from remote workers in Canada, India and Sweden.

Only 12% of international employees chose full office work as the ideal work arrangement. A new normal will probably emerge. Among the 20% who prefer the distribution “80% at the office / 20% remotely” are the following values at the country level: Canada – 33%, Spain – 29%, Switzerland – 28%, and the United Kingdom – 27%.

92% of employees expect their companies to invest more in digital transformation tools to help them adapt to new business realities. Employees in India, South Africa, Canada and Japan indicated that they were even more supportive of digital transformation.

The changing landscape of cyber threats requires appropriate modern protection

“The traditional standalone anti-virus and backup solutions are unable to protect businesses from the sophisticated cyber threats currently underway in a changing environment,” said Sergei “SB” Beloussov, founder and CEO of Acronis. Companies that choose modern, integrated data protection and cybersecurity solutions gain not only in security, but also in cost reduction and other economies of scale.

The scope of the study

This study was conducted in 17 countries and look at the following sectors: – Computer Science and Telecommunications – Home/Travel – Health – Education – Sports/Entertainment – Others (manufacturing, finance/legal/professional services, etc.).

Respondents come from 17 countries on four continents: South Africa, Germany, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Spain, France, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

In each country, 50% of respondents are members of IT teams in companies and 50% are employees who currently work remotely. Respondents come from different sectors, both public and private.…