Data breaches and information leaks in large and small companies increased exponentially in 2020. According to Canalys data, they not only represented an absolute record but exceeded the sum of all those recorded in the previous fifteen years.
Data is pure gold in the current technological era and leaks are reproduced without control both by undesirable practices of the same companies and by external cyber-attacks especially since that great threat that has become the Ransomware that does not respect anything or anyone and we have seen it act against hospitals to obtain confidential data or against agencies such as the SEPE that manages subsidies for millions of unemployed.
As cyber-attacks increase, it’s hard not to wonder if companies are fighting a losing battle because according to Canalys companies are spending more than ever on cybersecurity and yet the number of successful attacks is higher than ever. This ‘carnage’ is happening even though cybersecurity investment grew 10% in 2020 to $53 billion.
Data breaches are on the rise
The consultancy believes, that despite budget increases, companies are still underinvesting in cybersecurity. In fact, during the COVID-19 pandemic, other areas of IT grew faster, indicating that companies were emphasizing services that would help them remain stable or even grow rather than protecting their infrastructure from attack.
Some companies may have increased their vulnerability by responding to the pandemic by ignoring part of their security policies. It is also possible that the real culprit is simply that we have not considered cybersecurity as a top priority.
Canalys gives some examples. Compared to 10% growth in cybersecurity spending, cloud infrastructure services grew 33% in 2020; Cloud software services grew 20%; Laptop shipments grew 17%; Logitech webcam sales grew 138%, or Wi-Fi router sales grew 40%.
It’s clear that confinements to curb the pandemic has influenced increased investment in infrastructure for telework and e-learning, but the consultancy warns of the risks: “Cybersecurity must be front and center in digital plans, otherwise there will be a mass extinction of organizations, threatening the post-COVID-19 economic recovery,” explains Canalys chief analyst Matthew Ball in a statement.
“The lapse in focus on cybersecurity is already having major repercussions, resulting in the escalation of the current data breach crisis and acceleration of ransomware attacks.” The results have been dire, with data breaches in 2020 exceeding the sum of all those recorded in the previous fifteen years.
