Big Data and IoT leave businesses more vulnerable to cyber attacks

In the next three years, there will be more cyberattacks than there were in the past five, a new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) claims -- it points the finger at the growth of IoT.

The report says that out of 200 operators of critical infrastructure worldwide, 80 percent say the proliferation of IoT and Big Data is making them more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Telecom and IT services are the most vulnerable types of companies, as an attack would create the most damage, followed by banking institutions. "The increasing connectedness of critical infrastructure is improving the quality and reach of services, but it is also exposing operators to greater levels of risk from cyber-attacks", says Chris Clague, the editor of the report.

"Mitigating that risk is more important for critical infrastructure than perhaps any other sector because their operations are responsible for the day-to-day functioning of society. It is encouraging that nearly nine in ten respondents believe their organization has a clear command structure to deal with attacks, but they will also need to be continually fine tuning their portfolio of tools and resources", Clague adds.

Outsourcing, once considered a poor choice, is now accepted as part of cybersecurity efforts, the report says. More than a third (35 percent) of respondents say they are primarily using third-parties to handle security, while 19.5 percent combine both in-house and outsourced experts.

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