Fortinet’s latest survey illustrates just how important a concern security has become for enterprises, with CIOs and CTOs fully aware of its significance to business operations.

Fortinet recently conducted a worldwide survey in which more than 1600 IT decision makers (ITDM) from an estimated 500 organisations gave their opinions on a significant enterprise issue - security.

Security prioritised

The survey found that nearly 90% of CIOs and CTOs believe that the ability to keep one’s enterprise secure is growing more challenging by the day. Added to this, 63% of ITDMs have admitted to abandoning or delaying at least one business project over fears of inadequate security control.

Emerging technologies too present a threat, with Fortinet identifying the rising volume and complexity of advanced persistent threats (APT), distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and other cyber threats. These malicious attacks stem from the demands surrounding technology trends like the Internet of Things (IoT) and biometrics. Furthermore, Fortinet discovered that only two-thirds of ITDMs feel confident their business has the correct tools to deal with security threats these technologies may pose. Of the remaining unconfident third, 33% feel that biometric technologies cannot be secured within their own organisation.

Remaining positive

As great as this fear and trepidation surrounding emerging technologies and the ability to deal with them, Fortinet’s global security survey has noticed a rise in companies’ data privacy and big data security spending. As a result of security uncertainty, 90% of ITDMs have stated their intent to adopt a new IT strategy in response. Of that percentage, 56% have made clear their intent to invest more money and resources in order to meet the growing security challenge. The remainder are ready to rethink their entire IT strategy altogether.

Although unsure of how their organisations will deal with the security concerns around emerging technologies, many ITDMs feel they have enough human and financial resources at their disposal. When asked about their confidence in this regard, four out of every five ITDM said yes to having sufficient resources to deal with IT security over the past 12 months. Added to this, 83% of respondents felt confident in the amount of resources they had for the next year.

Showing cyber resilience

Fortinet’s global security survey may highlight the need for enterprises and ITDMs to become more robust and efficient in the way they deal with emerging technologies and the IT security considerations thereof, but it also presents an opportunity to get ahead of the curve, says Fortinet’s vice president of marketing products, John Maddison. “These organisations must act now to address the impact of the growing threat environment,” he stated. “The good news is that many (ITDMs) are positive and feeling well equipped with human and financial resources for the IT security challenges that lie ahead. However, to do so points toward intelligent new strategies and more investment in security technologies,” Maddison concluded.