Security risks leave 84 percent of IT pros feeling stressed at work
A new study of 500 US IT and cybersecurity staff reveals that 84 percent report feeling uncomfortable levels of stress at work due to IT security risks, while 78 percent fear they will be personally blamed for security incidents.
The report from Object First exposes a gap in how organizations support their IT staff, highlighting the opportunity to provide mental health resources and less complex security technology to help reduce stress as cyber threats continue to rise.
90 percent of organizations face attacks involving lateral movement
A new report from Illumio, based on a survey of over 1,100 IT and cybersecurity decision makers, finds that almost 90 percent of leaders have detected a security incident involving lateral movement within the past 12 months.
Each incident involving lateral movement resulted in a global average of over seven hours of downtime. Alert fatigue, along with limited and fragmented visibility, especially across hybrid environments, are two of the top challenges to detecting lateral movement.
41 percent of schools suffer AI-related cyber incidents
A new survey of more than 1,400 education leaders across primary, secondary and higher education in the UK and US finds that while AI is already integrated into classrooms and faculty work, development of policies and protections needed to manage new risks in schools is lagging.
The study from Keeper Security shows 41 percent of schools have experienced AI-related cyber incidents, including phishing campaigns and misinformation, while nearly 30 percent reported instances of harmful AI content, such as deepfakes created by students.
The rise of the ‘bionic hacker’ -- AI’s impact on attack and defense
The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming both attack and defense according to a report released today by crowdsourced security platform HackerOne.
It finds that organizations have expanded their AI program adoption by 270 percent this year, while HackerOne’s platform reported a 540 percent surge in prompt injection vulnerabilities to make them the fastest-growing threat in AI security.
AI use increases alongside plummeting consumer trust
A new report from Ping Identity finds that 68 percent of consumers are now using AI, up from 41 percent a year ago. But at the same time fewer than one in five (17 percent) say they have ‘full trust’ in the organizations that manage their identity data.
The findings of the study, carried out by Talker Research which interviewed 10,500 consumers across 11 countries, show that 75 percent say they are more concerned about personal data security than five years ago. In addition 39 percent cite AI-driven phishing as the modern scam that concerns them most.
Cryptographic debt and quantum readiness [Q&A]
As White House Executive Orders, NIST mandates, and international deadlines accelerate the push toward post-quantum encryption, the clock is ticking for organizations still grappling with cryptographic debt.
We spoke to Dave Krauthamer, co-founder and field CTO at QuSecure, to learn more about emerging threats, compliance mandates, and mitigation frameworks for organizations looking to get ahead of the coming disruption.
IT issues cost 100s of 1,000s of hours in lost productivity
A new report shows that poor digital employee experience (DEX) directly costs global businesses an average of 470,000 hours per year in lost productivity, equivalent to around 226 full-time employees.
The study from Nexthink, based on analysis of data from more than 20m endpoints across 474 global businesses, finds the average employee suffers 14 negative digital experiences a week. These include device crashes, application glitches, or slow load times, and can reduce productivity and collaboration while also increasing employee frustration and stress.
Organizations face growing email security crisis
While businesses continue to depend on email for mission-critical communication, a new report issued by email signature management specialist Exclaimer reveals they're struggling to secure and govern this most essential channel.
The survey of over 4,000 global IT leaders, including 1,000 in the US, and exposes a critical gap: while 86 percent of US IT leaders say more than half of their business communication flows through email, the infrastructure supporting it hasn't kept pace with modern security and governance demands.
Gen Z most likely to fall for phishing attacks
A new survey reveals that 44 percent of all participants admit to having interacted with a phishing message in the last year. Gen Z stands out as the most susceptible demographic, with 62 percent reporting engagement with a phishing scam in the past year, significantly higher than other age groups.
Commissioned by Yubico and conducted by Talker Research, the survey gathered insights from 18,000 employed adults across nine countries including Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, the UK and the US. It explored individuals’ cybersecurity habits in both their workplace and personal lives.
Mobile apps expose sensitive data and create privacy risks
New research from NowSecure tested 50,000 mobile apps in August and finds over 77 percent contain common forms of PII.
It’s well known that the vast majority of mobile apps are built using third-party components like SDKs. The study finds that 98 percent of iOS apps have incomplete privacy manifests due to omissions relating to third-party components, violating Apple transparency requirements and creating major blind spots.
Bridging the gap between boardroom and SOC demands [Q&A]
It’s inevitable that different parts of the enterprise will pull in different directions. This is particularly true when it comes to the IT world where operational teams like the SOC tend to focus on operational resilience while management and the boardroom worry about compliance.
We talked to Kyle Wickert, field chief technology officer of AlgoSec, about how IT pros can balance the compliance demands of the C-suite while maintaining security across sprawling hybrid environments.
AI reshapes managed security services but it’s a double-edged sword
A new survey from OpenText Cybersecurity reveals that MSPs find AI as both a driver of growth and source of new challenges as as demand for scalable, integrated tools continues to rise.
In 2024, 93 percent of MSPs and managed security service providers (MSSPs) said AI interest would drive growth in their business that year. That trend has carried forward to this year, with 92 percent of MSPs now reporting business growth driven by interest in AI, and 96 percent expecting AI to drive business growth this year.
System integrations -- strategic phasing or waterfall implementation? [Q&A]
As organizations continue to navigate complex system integrations, one critical decision that arises is whether to embrace strategic phasing or waterfall implementation. The choice of approach can shape the success or failure of projects, particularly when dealing with large-scale ERP consolidations and replacements.
We spoke with Scott Maggiolo, SVP of information technology at Ribbon Communications to understand the pros and cons of each and how the decision is not one-size-fits-all.
DDoS attack volumes surge 41 percent as threats rapidly evolve
The latest Radar report from Gcore finds DDoS attacks have reached unprecedented scale and disruption in 2025, and businesses need to act fast to protect themselves from this evolving threat.
Attack volumes increased by 41 percent compared to Q1-Q2 of 2024, evidencing dangerous long term growth trends predicted in prior Radar reports. The largest attack peaked at 2.2 Tbps in Q1-Q2, surpassing the 2 Tbps peak recorded in late 2024.
Tech investment is needed to fight geopolitical risk to supply chains
A new report finds that nearly three quarters (73 percent) of UK businesses expect geopolitical risk to intensify over the next 12 months, with 62 percent saying their supply chains can’t deal with the shifting geopolitical sands.
The study from Ivalua, based on a survey of 300 supply chain and procurement decision-makers in the UK, shows the war in Ukraine has negatively impacted confidence in their organization’s supply chain the most (77 percent). This is followed by US tariffs (75 percent), military exercises and testing disrupting major shipping straits (73 percent), tensions between China and Taiwan (62 percent), and the war in Gaza (58 percent).
Ian's Bio
Ian spent almost 20 years working with computers before he discovered that writing about them was easier than fixing them. Since then he's written for a number of computer magazines and is a former editor of PC Utilities. Follow him on Mastodon
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