Cisco 2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report

Cisco published the annual Cybersecurity report that presents the latest security industry advances designed to help organizations and users defend against attacks. The report also highlights major findings from the Cisco 2017 Security Capabilities Benchmark Study, which examines the security posture of enterprises and their perceptions of their preparedness to defend against attacks.

The study, conducted across 13 countries with more than 2,900 respondents, reveals that:

  • Organisations impacted by cyberattacks are experiencing loss of business and in some cases, revenue declines of more than 25%.
  • 44% of security alerts are not investigated.
  • More than 50% of organisations have had to cope with public scrutiny following a security breach.
  • The top constraints to adopting advanced security products and solutions are budget, compatibility, certification and talent.
  • Operationalising security is a challenge as 55% of security professionals use between 6 and 50 solutions from between 6 and 50 different vendors, leading to a lack of integration.

In the second half of 2016, vendor-disclosed vulnerabilities dropped significantly from 2015, according to the research. The National Vulnerability Database shows a similar decline. The reasons for the drop in disclosed vulnerability advisories are not entirely clear.

Anyway, adversaries have a vast and varied portfolio of techniques for gaining access to organizational resources and for attaining unconstrained time to operate. Their strategies cover all the basics and include:

  • Taking advantage of lapses in patching and updating.
  • Luring users into socially engineered traps.
  • Injecting malware into supposedly legitimate online content such as advertising.

Key Conclusions of the Annual Cybersecurity Report:

  • Adversaries have more tools at their disposal than ever. The explosive growth of mobile endpoints and online traffic provides them with more space to operate and greater choice in targets and approaches.
  • Defenders compete for personnel in a market where talent is in short supply and budget is tight. With a lack of integrated systems and limited time, security teams are overwhelmed and can only investigate about half of the security alerts they receive.
  • Organisations need to focus on reducing attackers’ operational space. With budget and talent constraints, companies must simplify security and deploy integrated and automated solutions.

Below, Cisco Chief Security and Trust Officer John N. Stewart and David Ulevitch, Vice President and General Manager of Cisco’s Security Business Group discuss key insights and findings from the Cisco 2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report.

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