More than two-thirds of businesses in Ireland (69%) believe hybrid working arrangements will increase the chances of a cyberattack or incident, despite 91% of companies having taken steps to enhance data protection in the past 12 months, according to Dell Technologies.
A survey of 113 business leaders in Ireland, conducted in partnership with the Executive Institute, shows that resilience to cyberattack is now a priority, with 91% of organisations recognising its importance at senior leadership level.
However, a majority of respondents (57%) said they wouldn't know how to react in the event of a ransomware attack such as the one suffered by the HSE last May, and 64% said they are unsure if their organisations have the capability to isolate critical data in the event of a ransomware attack.
Just 28% said they have a well-defined incident response strategy in response to an attack, with less than a third (29%) saying they would restore data lost from a standard back-up solution.
The vast majority of respondents (92%) agreed that enhancing their organisation's cyber resilience is important to ensuring the success of their digital transformation plans, while 55% said the growing number of attacks is the main barrier to enhancing protections, followed by outdated technology (20%), insufficient in-house skills (16%) and upfront investment (12%).
Commenting on the results of the survey, Jason Ward, vice president and managing director of Dell Technologies Ireland, said: “Our team of cyber experts at Dell Technologies help organisations across Ireland build a resilient infrastructure where business critical data can be placed in a cyber vault that’s inaccessible to cyber criminals.
“As we look towards a data-driven future, prioritising cybersecurity is critical to ensuring that businesses and organisations are better prepared, not just to survive a cyberattack, but to thrive. Their business resilience is now directly tied to their cyber resilience.”
Conor Morris, managing director of the Executive Institute, added: “The results of the survey highlight the increasing importance of cybersecurity for our members.
"As we enter a hybrid world of work, having a cyber resilience plan is vital in dealing with the challenges and opportunities of this post-pandemic environment.”
(Pic: Getty Images)
