Cyber threats are at their most challenging level for years — and the risks may only get worse

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The vast majority (85%) of cybersecurity professionals in the UK believe the cyber threat landscape is its most challenging point in the past five years, new research has claimed.

A report from SoSafe, surveying over 1,250 security professionals across Europe, found less than half (44%) of those surveyed in the UK believe the situation will improve in the next 12 months.

The risk review shows that one in two security professionals suffered a successful cyber attack over the last year, with more than half (55%) stating that the attack had impacted their company.

Things aren’t going to improve any time soon

It’s not even improvements in malware that are making cyber incidents worse, but rather human vulnerabilities, with 36% of security professionals saying that it is the most likely origin of a successful attack.

This was mainly attributed to threat actors adopting AI to automate phishing campaigns. By automating a phishing campaign, attackers can launch multiple attacks simultaneously, and when combined with language translation, voice cloning, and deepfakes, the efficiency and success rates of each campaign increases.

The majority of security leaders in the UK (84%) said generative AI use by cyber criminals is a concern, especially among organizations with more than 5,000 employees. A further 77% agree rising geopolitical tensions are contributing to the security risks posed to their organization.

Supply chains are also considered to be a major risk to cybersecurity, with 85% of security professionals agreeing that relying on another organization to provide a service increases the risks posed to their own.

The report concludes in order to combat the growing risks faced by organizations, workforces must be made aware of the threats they face and be provided with a strong security-centric culture and training.

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Benedict has been writing about security issues for over 7 years, first focusing on geopolitics and international relations while at the University of Buckingham. During this time he studied BA Politics with Journalism, for which he received a second-class honours (upper division), then continuing his studies at a postgraduate level, achieving a distinction in MA Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy. Upon joining TechRadar Pro as a Staff Writer, Benedict transitioned his focus towards cybersecurity, exploring state-sponsored threat actors, malware, social engineering, and national security. Benedict is also an expert on B2B security products, including firewalls, antivirus, endpoint security, and password management.