Three out of five companies expect to be breached in 2017

As cyber attacks and security breaches continue to make the headlines, a new study suggests that three out of five companies expect to suffer a breach this year.

The latest Market Pulse survey from identity management company SailPoint also reveals that 33 percent believe they may not even know they’ve been breached.

Of the 67 percent who reported being breached in 2016, the average material impact to the business was $4 million. The survey also finds that 51 percent of companies suffered two or more breaches in the last twelve months.

The study also looked at areas of risk and finds that unstructured data is becoming a major concern, with 71 percent of respondents being unsure how to manage and protect it from theft. BYOD and shadow IT are seen as areas of risk for their organization too, yet less than half of respondents have formalized corporate security policies in place. Add to this the risks posed by continued poor password hygiene cited by 37 percent of respondents and it’s clear that enterprises need to improve corporate security policies.

A surge in freelancers, contract workers and other third parties that make up today’s diverse workforce presents a significant challenge for organizations when it comes to managing identities and their access. 60 percent of respondents are concerned with the threat that contractors may pose to their organization, with 86 percent admitting they only have partial visibility into the access contractors have to corporate systems and the sensitive data they contain.

"This year's Market Pulse Survey highlights that the conversation is clearly changing as organizations consider how to mitigate their risk -- or minimize their exposure when a breach happens," says Kevin Cunningham, SailPoint’s president and co-founder. "This is a positive change, as fostering open conversations and best practices will only benefit these organizations when they find themselves in the unfortunate position of being breached. The common areas of exposure can be addressed, but many organizations are struggling with how or even where to start. This report provides a clear roadmap for them to get their house in order."

The full report is available from the SailPoint website and there's a summary of the findings as an infographic below.

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