Arbor Networks, a provider of DDoS and threat protection solutions, has announced the results of a survey which has indicated that the majority of companies are unprepared for cyber attacks.
The survey, titled 'Cyber Incident Response: Are business leaders ready?', was conducted in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit and interviewed 360 senior business leaders around the globe. The majority of those interviewed were C-level management or board members within their firms.
Despite 77 per cent of companies interviewed suffering an incident within the last two years, over a third still have no incident response plan should an attack occur. Only 17 per cent of respondents reported that they were fully prepared.
Reluctance is costly
According to the survey, however, around two-thirds of those asked think the effective handling of an incident would enhance their firm's reputation. On the other hand, 57 per cent also confirmed that they have not disclosed attacks in the past, even though legally required to do so.
Companies' reluctance to disclose information and share intelligence was highlighted as an issue in the report. Only around a third of respondents said that they have, or would, share information about attacks with other businesses.
"When it comes to cyber-attacks, we live in a 'when' not 'if' world," said Arbor Networks president, Matthew Moynahan. "In the wake of recent high profile targeted attacks in the retail sector, a company's ability to quickly identify and classify and incident, and execute a response plan, is critical to not only protecting corporate assets and customer data, but the brand, reputation and bottom line of the company."
