Most CEOs now see cybersecurity as more important than economic performance

Based on a survey and report from Palo Alto Networks, a growing number of CEOs are starting to realise that cyberattacks are their biggest existential threat than economic uncertainty. A total of 2,500 CEOs were randomly interviewed from Germany, France, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, and the UK. Palo Alto found out that CEOs fear what they don’t know, and a majority believed that they are well-prepared for a cyberattack scenario.

The report further stated that 51% of CEOs think that as the risks of cyberattacks rise rapidly, their ability to keep their firms’ endpoints safe keeps them awake at night. The majority don’t even know what they are up against, as roughly one in six (16%) feel they completely understand the risks their firms are facing and have their internet operations encrypted with a hide VPN. A fifth (21%) consider themselves wholly responsible for their organisation’s cybersecurity, while a quarter (24%) see it as the job of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), but they do see themselves as somewhat responsible, too.

In addition, almost four in five (78%) are confident in their complete and tested plans for threat protection and recoverability, with 74% confirming that their firms can easily adapt to changing threats. Now, the question is, how safe is it to use AI from a cybersecurity perspective? At the same time, just a third (36%) would work with an incident response team in case of an attack, and 34% would pay the ransom in case of a ransomware attack.

The report shows how ready and equipped most businesses are against cyberattacks. Some have taught their employees how to stay alert against an attack and have their devices protected. However, paying a ransom to an attacker is against the rules of cybersecurity experts and law enforcement agencies. Such payment doesn't guarantee the business will get their data back and doesn't guarantee they won’t get attacked again. Most firms do it because they see it as the fastest way to resume operation without knowing they are exacerbating the problem.