Intelecis Trends Report 2023

The 2023 Intelecis Trends Report checks on businesses all over Southern California to understand the problems they are worried about now and in the future. Also, it sees how they’re dealing with issues they had in the past.

Our study found that even though some problems keep sticking around, businesses are making noticeable improvements in areas where things didn’t get better before. However, even with these good changes, some old security problems are still there.

Ransomware is back, and it’s getting bigger.

When businesses talked about what worries them the most in 2023, one word kept showing up: ransomware. Almost half (48%) of organizations say that ransomware is their top concern for the next year.

This worry was at the top in the report from 2022 too, and there’s a good reason for that. Ransomware attacks keep increasing, and the idea of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) has made it easier for less experienced attackers to do this kind of attack.

Businesses aren’t just facing these attacks; they might actually be making them worse by giving in to the attackers’ demands. About 74% of the time, either the victim or someone like an insurance company pays some of the ransom.

Important to know, some law enforcement groups like the FBI, advise against paying the ransom. They think this makes attackers bolder. But we understand that each situation is different. While not paying might feel right, it might not be the best choice for everyone who’s targeted.

People are becoming more concerned about Cloud Security.

The second most common thing people worry about from our report is gaps in security when using the cloud. About 42% of the people we asked said they’re most worried about this. This matches up with what organizations are planning to spend on: making sure their cloud stuff is safe.

From the people we talked to, 53% said they’re planning to improve their cloud security technology in the next year. That’s 31% more than what they said last year.

People also told us that they want to learn more about cloud security and changing technology setups in the coming year. This is important because things are changing. More people are working from home and using digital tools, which means the old ways of protecting computer networks aren’t as effective. Also, it’s clear that cloud services are becoming more popular because they’re cost-effective. All of this is making cloud security really important. As these types of setups get bigger and change, the teams in charge of keeping them safe need to learn and change too.

Certain solutions disappoint, while others are simply overlooked.

While it’s good that organizations are putting money into improving their cloud resources, there’s an important solution that’s being overlooked: patch management. Not fixing vulnerabilities properly is becoming a bigger problem. A study from the Ponemon Institute shows that 60% of security breaches could have been stopped if patches were used correctly.

Interestingly, 25% of the people we asked said that their biggest worry in 2023 is vulnerabilities and patching. This is kind of strange because most organizations don’t seem to be planning to work on patching systems next year. Only 18% of the people we talked to are thinking about improving their patch management.

Just like how organizations are thinking about what can help them the most with security, they’re also figuring out which solutions aren’t helping much. There’s one surprising point in our data: 30% of organizations said that their current endpoint technology (a way to secure devices) isn’t doing much for them. This unhappiness might be because of a few problems, and our detailed report explains each of them.

Moving towards stronger and more powerful technologies.

But these problems are showing that people are moving towards using technology that offers more than just EDR. Two options related to EDR: managed detection and response (MDR) and network traffic analysis (NTA), got much lower levels of unhappiness. This means that organizations are finding these alternatives to EDR more useful.

NTA helps security teams spot threats at the network level. It’s true that almost every breach ends up at a device (endpoint), which makes endpoint security tech important. But when you combine network traffic analysis with endpoint tech, you get better alerts and quicker detection. Sometimes, threats can be spotted in the network data and then confirmed when they reach the device.

Now, about managed detection and response: it’s about who will use the tools that a company invests in. A good MDR service should be able to add to and improve the existing security setup by watching and reacting 24/7. With this kind of MDR, it’s clear why many organizations find it really helpful right away.

Discover a lot more information in the Intelecis Trends Report.

We’ve only started talking about the information in the 2023 Intelecis Cybersecurity Trends Report. This important resource doesn’t just cover the topics we discussed earlier, but it also gives interesting insights into:

• The main things stopping security teams from reaching their goals
• Whether security budgets are growing or shrinking, and the reasons behind it
• The top worries that are shaping organizations’ security plans in 2023

Moreover, the report shows surprising answers about how organizations act after a security breach. It explains how one choice can affect their security, budget, and reputation.