European Businesses Anticipate More Cybersecurity Attacks, But Feel Unprepared for Them
Cloudflare's latest study, titled 'Shielding the Future: Europe's Cyber Threat Landscape Report,' reveals that 64% of European business leaders expect a cybersecurity incident in the next 12 months, but only 29% feel highly prepared. The study surveyed over 4,000 leaders across 13 European markets, uncovering a significant rise in the volume and frequency of attacks. While 40% of organizations experienced incidents in the last year, industries like IT & technology are better prepared compared to healthcare and education. Financial and reputational damages are substantial, with costs ranging from £788,000 to over £1.576 million per incident. Many businesses are adopting more cybersecurity products, but 72% believe this complexity hampers effectiveness. Furthermore, 58% are in early stages of adopting Zero Trust network access. Despite 54% of businesses expecting increased cybersecurity budgets, challenges remain, including funding, talent shortages, and evolving requirements.
- 54% of respondents expect increased cybersecurity budgets.
- Two-thirds anticipate a budget rise of more than 10%.
- 25% expect cybersecurity to make up at least 20% of IT spend.
- 49% of IT & technology sector respondents feel highly prepared.
- Financial services and retail sectors also show higher preparedness.
- 64% of leaders expect a cybersecurity incident within the next 12 months.
- Only 29% feel highly prepared for future incidents.
- 40% experienced a cybersecurity incident in the last year.
- 84% report an increase in attack frequency over the past year.
- 39% cite financial impact as most significant, with losses between £788,000 and £1.576 million.
- 23% faced increased insurance premiums, 22% paid fines, and 23% faced legal action.
- 31% had to put growth plans on hold, and 28% temporarily suspended business operations.
- 72% believe that having more cybersecurity products hampers effectiveness.
- 58% are in early stages of Zero Trust network access deployment.
- 86% believe their leadership lacks understanding of Zero Trust.
This report from Cloudflare provides critical insights into the preparedness of European businesses for cybersecurity threats, with potential implications for various sectors. The reported statistic that only 29% of respondents feel highly prepared could signal heightened future expenditure on cybersecurity solutions. This is supported by the finding that 54% of respondents expect their IT budgets for cybersecurity to increase, with two-thirds anticipating a rise of more than
For investors, this suggests a likely uptick in demand for cybersecurity products and services. Companies specializing in cybersecurity, like Cloudflare, could see revenue growth in the short and long term as businesses strive to shore up their defenses. However, it is important to note that increased investment in cybersecurity translates to higher operational costs for other businesses, potentially impacting their profit margins.
It’s also noteworthy that businesses with fewer incidents, like those in healthcare and education, have lower preparedness. This paradox might indicate a reactive rather than proactive approach to cybersecurity spending, potentially impacting the pace and predictability of demand for cybersecurity solutions across different industries.
The focus on a European market with diverse industries also hints at regional variations in cybersecurity challenges and spending, which might affect how cybersecurity companies like Cloudflare target their market strategies.
The report highlights a significant gap between the expected increase in cybersecurity incidents and the current level of preparedness among businesses. With 64% of leaders anticipating a cybersecurity incident in the next 12 months but only 29% feeling highly prepared, there is a pressing need for improved cybersecurity postures across organizations.
One key insight is that nearly half of the businesses use over 11 different products and solutions, yet
Moreover, the slow adoption of Zero Trust network access—only
The focus on ransomware and phishing as primary attack vectors points to the need for enhanced email security and endpoint protection solutions. Companies that can address these specific threats effectively are well-positioned to benefit from the identified gaps in preparedness.
The report also underscores the financial risks associated with breaches, including increased insurance premiums, fines and even layoffs, making a strong business case for robust and proactive cybersecurity measures.
New Cloudflare study reveals that
These new findings reveal an ongoing concern around growing cybersecurity threats and a feeling of unpreparedness among European businesses.
Cybersecurity attacks are increasing in volume and frequency
The survey, which was conducted with more than 4,000 business and technology leaders across 13 European markets (Benelux, CEER, DACH, Nordics,
Of those that suffered such an event,
Looking ahead, two-thirds (
Majority of organisations unprepared for cybersecurity threats
Concerningly, despite the increasing volume and frequency of these attacks, only
Additionally, industries that had experienced fewer attacks were also among those least prepared. Just
The reverse is true for those in the IT & technology industry. With almost half (
When looking at organisational size, the lack of preparation by smaller businesses is a particular concern, with only a quarter (
The cost of a breach is more than financial
For those businesses impacted by a cybersecurity breach, more than a third of respondents (
Looking at the numbers more closely, almost two-fifths (
A further
Businesses aim to simplify and modernise solutions in the face of diverse threats
It’s unsurprising that financial gain was at the heart of many attacks (
The majority (
When it comes to the most commonly experienced attack vectors, these too are diverse. Phishing tops the list, with almost three in five (
When it comes to tackling these issues, onboarding more products seems to be the go-to response. In fact, nearly half (
Notably, the three most pressing challenges cybersecurity decision makers and leaders face are: consolidating and simplifying cybersecurity estate (
Further education on Zero Trust is required for maximum impact
Respondents report three clear problems in the existing architectures they work with: applications and data stored in the public cloud; limited oversight over IT supply chains; and over-reliance on VPNs to protect applications (with each factor mentioned by
Given these problems, it is unsurprising that securing a hybrid workforce is a top priority, coming in the top three for more than a third (
Worryingly, for many organisations, deployment of countermeasures is a long way behind, and in some cases not yet started. Despite widespread recognition of its ability to protect hybrid or remote workers, when looking at deployment of Zero Trust network access, just
While two-fifths (
Despite increased budgets, funding, talent, and training remain challenges
With business leaders anticipating more cybersecurity incidents, it’s positive to see that
A quarter (
For the majority, protecting their networks remains the number one investment area, with nearly
In terms of how this budget allocation is decided, the top two determinants were the number of incidents experienced (
Funding remains the top concern for
Interestingly, despite the increasing volume of attacks, a quarter (
“Organisations across
To find out more about the Europe Cyber Threat Landscape Report, please check out:
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted by Sandpiper Communications, on behalf of Cloudflare across a total of 4,261 leaders responsible for cybersecurity in small (150 to 999 employees), medium (1,000 to 2,499 employees), and large (more than 2,500 employees) organisations. Respondents were drawn from a wide range of industries: Business & Professional Services; Construction & Real Estate; Education; Energy, Utilities & Natural Resources; Financial Services; Gaming; Government; Healthcare; IT & Technology; Manufacturing; Media & Telecoms; Retail; Transport; Travel and Tourism & Hospitality. Respondents were based in 13 markets across
About Cloudflare
Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET) is the leading connectivity cloud company on a mission to help build a better Internet. It empowers organizations to make their employees, applications and networks faster and more secure everywhere, while reducing complexity and cost. Cloudflare’s connectivity cloud delivers the most full-featured, unified platform of cloud-native products and developer tools, so any organization can gain the control they need to work, develop, and accelerate their business.
Powered by one of the world’s largest and most interconnected networks, Cloudflare blocks billions of threats online for its customers every day. It is trusted by millions of organizations – from the largest brands to entrepreneurs and small businesses to nonprofits, humanitarian groups, and governments across the globe.
Learn more about Cloudflare’s connectivity cloud at cloudflare.com/connectivity-cloud. Learn more about the latest Internet trends and insights at radar.cloudflare.com.
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Cloudflare, Inc.
Daniella Vallurupalli
Vice President, Head of Global Communications
press@cloudflare.com
Source: Cloudflare, Inc.
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