67% of Companies Admit They Have Lost Deals Because of Low Confidence in Their Security Strategy, According to Research from LogRhythm

Global Research Finds External Stakeholders are Increasingly Expecting Vendors to Meet Specific Security Requirements to Win and Retain Business

LogRhythm, the company empowering security teams to defend against the ever-evolving threat landscape, announced the release of its report, “The State of the Security Team 2022: Can Security Teams Meet Internal and External Stakeholders’ Requirements?” based on research conducted by Dimensional Research. One of the most compelling findings was security’s impact on a company’s bottom-line revenue as the majority of respondents (67%) indicated their company had lost a business deal due to the customer’s lack of confidence in their security strategy.

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“The State of the Security Team 2022: Can Security Teams Meet Internal and External Stakeholders’ Requirements?”

Dimensional Research conducted a survey of 1,175 security professionals and executives across five continents representing a global view. The research investigated security solution capabilities, deployment strategies, gaps and the value of tool consolidation. The survey also looked to compare key data collected by LogRhythm and Dimensional Research in 2020 to identify and evaluate trends.

Security Is No Longer an Internal Affair

Respondents overwhelmingly indicated that customers and partners are demanding higher standards, highlighting that security has evolved beyond internal consideration. Ninety-one percent reported that their company’s security strategy and practices must now align to customers’ security policies and standards. Partners also exert a new level of due diligence with 85% of respondents stating their company must provide proof of meeting partners’ security requirements.

While LogRhythm’s initial report in 2020 revealed significant misalignment between executives and their security teams with less than half of respondents (43%) saying they received enough executive support, the latest research found support nearly doubled over the last two years. The majority of respondents (83%) said they now receive enough support around budget, strategic vision and buy-in, suggesting an improvement in understanding between executive leadership and their security teams.

“Given the increasing complexity and severity of cyber threats organizations are experiencing, cybersecurity is now a business imperative,” said Andrew Hollister, Chief Security Officer of LogRhythm. “Security events hold the potential to significantly impact revenue, which begs the attention of executive leadership and pushes more organizations to align on expectations both internally and externally.”

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Security Teams are Feeling the Effects of Turnover

When asked if employee turnover reduces the effectiveness of their security teams, the overwhelming majority agreed regardless of their role with 77% of executives, 70% of directors and managers, and 58% of security team members agreeing this has impact.

The research also found work-related stress for the security team is increasing for nearly 7 in 10 companies, with 30% reporting a significant increase, indicating many companies may be trying to do more with less amidst budget constraints.

The leading stressors for security team members include growing attack sophistication, more responsibilities and increasing attack frequency. When asked what would help alleviate their stress, the top responses included:

• 42% of respondents said adding more experienced security team members

• 41% of respondents said having more integrated security solutions

Methodology

Security and IT professionals at medium to enterprise companies representing all seniority levels were invited to participate in a survey on their company’s security practices. The survey was administered electronically, and participants were offered a token compensation for their participation. A total of 1,175 qualified participants completed the survey in 2022 and 308 in 2020. All participants had enterprise security responsibilities. Participants were from five continents representing a global view.