Report: US Government Organizations Lose Millions in an Average Network Outage or Data Breach

Rhea-AI Summary

On January 26, 2021, Infoblox released a report highlighting significant cybersecurity challenges faced by US government IT decision-makers, with 81% reporting data breaches costing over $1 million. The study, based on 294 responses, indicates that 60% of network outages also exceed $1 million in damages. Cloud networking attacks are on the rise, with 84% of respondents affected in the past year. In response to growing cyber threats, 67% of respondents increased their security budgets from 2019 to 2020.

Positive

• Demand for Infoblox's networking and security services has grown substantially year-over-year.
• Government IT teams are prioritizing network visibility and security investments.

Negative

• 81% of respondents reported data breaches costing at least $1 million.
• 60% of network outages exceeded $1 million in damages.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Infoblox Inc., the leader in Secure Cloud-Managed Network Services, today unveils new research into the foundational infrastructure challenges faced by networking and security decision-makers in the US government. The report reveals a disruptive year of workforce transformation forced by the COVID-19 shutdowns during which respondents also handled expensive fallouts from network outages and data breaches.

Based on 294 responses from federal, state and local government IT decision-makers, key survey findings include:

• Cybersecurity breaches inflict multi-million dollar pain on government organizations: 81% of respondents estimated data breaches have cost their organizations at least $1 million.
• The majority of network outages exceeds $1 million in damages: 60% of networking outages cost at least $1 million in operational disruptions, reputational damage, lost data, and financial losses.
• Networking and security challenges are inter-connected: 40% said preventing network outages was their top cybersecurity challenge, edging out the hiring and retention of qualified IT staff and securing cloud application data (38% each). Respondents rated network monitoring (73%) and threat intelligence (66%) as the most effective technologies for mitigating these challenges. 
• Cloud networking attacks are rising: 84% of respondents experienced one or more cloud networking attacks in the last 12 months.
• As cyber attacks escalate, security budgets continue to grow: 67% of respondents' budgets grew from 2019 to 2020 and 73% estimate an increase from 2020 to 2021.

Respondents also indicated that the costs of network outages extend far beyond direct financial damages. They cited concerns over lost productivity, reputational damage, loss of intellectual property, breach notification processing, and legal ramifications as unpleasant consequences to prevent.

"The COVID-19 shutdowns strained government IT resources as teams were time-pressed to secure remote workers while building out the infrastructure," says Allen McNaughton, Director of Sales Engineering, Infoblox Public Sector. "As the cascading SolarWinds breach reminds us, the US government faces well-resourced attackers capable of finding and exploiting unexpected gaps. Government IT teams have the tough job of building out cloud infrastructure while defending it and legacy systems, which raises the stakes."

"Fortunately, government IT teams are prioritizing network visibility and security investments to directly address their areas of top concern," notes McNaughton. "This correlates with demand for our core networking and security services, which has grown substantially year-over-year. Infoblox securely extends a customer's network into the cloud and sources DNS traffic insights that BloxOne Threat Defense uses along with other threat intelligence feeds and mitigation tools to provide defense-in-depth for on-premises and remote systems."

Download the report here.

About Infoblox
Infoblox delivers the next level network experience with its Secure Cloud-Managed Network Services. As the pioneer in providing the world's most reliable, secure and automated networks, we are relentless in our pursuit of next level network simplicity. Infoblox has over 8,000 customers, including 350 of the Fortune 500, and is recognized as the industry leader in the DDI networking market.

Learn more at https://www.infoblox.com/solutions/government/

CONTACT:
Lise Feng
lise@infoblox.com

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SOURCE Infoblox Inc.

FAQ

What did the Infoblox report reveal about cybersecurity breaches in government organizations?

The Infoblox report revealed that 81% of government organizations estimated data breaches have cost them at least $1 million.

How much do network outages cost according to the Infoblox survey?

According to the Infoblox survey, 60% of network outages cost at least $1 million in damages.

What percentage of respondents experienced cloud networking attacks in the last 12 months?

The report indicated that 84% of respondents experienced one or more cloud networking attacks in the past year.

How are government IT budgets changing in response to cybersecurity threats?

67% of respondents reported an increase in their security budgets from 2019 to 2020, with 73% expecting further increases from 2020 to 2021.