New Veritas Research Reveals Nearly Half of Organizations Underestimate Their Level of Risk

Veritas Technologies, the leader in secure multi-cloud data management released findings of new research that shows 45% of organizations may be miscalculating the severity of threats to their business. The study, Data Risk Management: The State of the Market—Cyber to Compliance, which polled 1,600 executives and IT practitioners across 13 global markets, provides insights into the most pressing risks, their impacts and how organizations plan to navigate them.

Despite risk factors like interest rates and inflation pressing hard on organizations, ransomware and multi-cloud complexity are also growing concerns for businesses of all kinds. However, when survey respondents were initially asked whether their organizations were currently at risk, almost half (48%) said no. But after being presented with a list of individual risk factors, respondents of all levels recognized the challenges facing their organizations with 97% then identifying a risk to their organizations.

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Notably, 15% of those surveyed did not believe their organizations could survive another 12 months given the risks they currently face. There was a disconnect, however, between the C-suite and those working in the trenches of protecting their organizations’ data, which could point to a communications issue: 23% of senior executives predicted the demise of their organizations in the next year, compared to just 6% of analysts and technicians.

Matt Waxman, senior vice president and general manager for data protection at Veritas, said: “The first step in addressing a problem is recognizing it’s there. When the risks are laid out in black and white, it’s hard to ignore the reality of today’s complex business operating environment. The risks are everywhere and require constant vigilance. While an overwhelming majority of respondents ultimately acknowledged the presence of risks and most said they’re taking steps to address them, the data suggests it may not be enough.”

Clear and present danger

Given the macro landscape and daily news headlines, the survey responses are a clear reflection of the times. Participants identified data security (46%), economic uncertainty (38%) and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), (36%) as the top threats faced by their organizations today from among an extensive list of possible hazards. Traditional threats like competition and a shortage of talent took fourth and fifth place. Geopolitical instability fell even further down the list to seventh place.

AI is proving to be a double-edged sword for organizations. There have been numerous reports over recent months of bad actors adopting AI solutions to create more sophisticated and compelling ransomware attacks on organizations. It has additionally been recognized as a risk factor for businesses who fail to put proper guardrails in place to stop employees from breaching data privacy regulations through the inappropriate use of generative AI tools. Conversely, AI is also tipped to be one of the best solutions for businesses to fight back against hackers since its capabilities can be harnessed to automate the detection of, and response to, malicious activities.

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Additionally, 87% of those surveyed admitted they had experienced a negative impact from risks, including reputational and financial harm. When asked which risks had resulted in actual damage to their organizations, data security was again highest, with 40% of respondents attesting to related damages. Economic uncertainty was the second most common risk to have affected organizations, with 36% having been hurt. Damages from competition came in third at 35% and emerging technologies, such as AI, at 33%.

The effects of data security breaches were underscored by the number of organizations who had been hit by ransomware attacks. A sizable majority (65%) said that over the past two years their organizations had been the victims of at least one successful ransomware attack in which hackers were able to infiltrate their systems. Twenty-six percent of those who experienced a successful attack said they did not report it. Breaches that caused a failure to comply with regulatory requirements cost respondents’ organizations, on average, more than US$336,000 in regulatory compliance fines during the last year.

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