Asset visibility is a major challenge for security professionals

A new study of over 100 security professionals, carried out by unified asset intelligence platform Armis, shows almost 40 percent say asset visibility is the biggest challenge facing their organizations.

A quarter say poor asset visibility is the biggest risk and over half (54 percent) of respondents say employee behavior is a top risk.

In addition 69 percent say board involvement in cybersecurity has increased in the past six months, but nearly a quarter (23 percent) say the board still doesn't have enough involvement.

The report shows the top five priorities for cybersecurity are: risk assessment, compliance, asset visibility, security awareness training, and threat detection/incident response. Also organizations have begun modifying their responses to cybersecurity concerns over the last six months, with a third saying their businesses have reviewed and/or tightened security policies. Significant challenges remain though; only 25 percent of respondents have performed a total risk assessment in the past six months.

"Given how fast things evolve in most of today's environments, six months can be an eternity," says Andy Norton, European cyber risk officer at Armis. "This means that 75 percent of respondents are providing their boards with out-of-date and stale data that is not fit for timely risk assessments. Organizations can and should aim higher, particularly as capabilities now exist for performing continuous risk assessments, which can help them achieve the next crucial step towards risk assessment maturity."

There's concern about the geopolitical landscape too, three in five respondents say they're dealing with more security alerts, and almost two-thirds express worries about Russian attacks against critical national infrastructure.

"Given the security environment in Europe, it is crucial that organizations in NATO countries continue to shore up defenses and scale up the ability to handle a growing number of vulnerabilities. Insights revealed in this survey highlight that, yes, businesses are making some progress, but there is room for improvement when it comes to providing business leaders with real-time information that will help them allocate the right resources and make the best decisions regarding their cybersecurity strategies," concludes Norton.

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