Mid-market cybersecurity jeopardised by talent turnover, research finds>
Channel Web – Andrea Gaini
A recent study conducted by Censuswide for Advania, a cloud services provider, has revealed that high staff turnover is significantly undermining cybersecurity capabilities in mid-market organizations across EMEA.
The research found that a mere two percent of mid-market firms manage to retain “excellent” IT talent for over two years, with an alarming 28 percent losing top talent within just six months.
In many cases, the constant churn of IT staff severely hampers the development of robust cyber strategies.
This issue is exacerbated by the challenge mid-market firms face in assigning sufficient IT budget to compete with larger enterprises, leading to limited resources that negatively impact long-term cybersecurity hygiene and digital transformation aspirations.
The study also highlighted that despite heavy investment in training, a majority of mid-market businesses are neglecting fundamental security measures such as firewalls, antivirus, and regular patching.
Even as over half of the respondents admit to overlooking these key measures, 47 percent develop strategies in-house, leaving them vulnerable to evolving threats and making them prime targets for cyberattacks.
Additionally, the research uncovered that many mid-market companies expect cloud providers to cover data recovery costs following an attack, yet only three percent recognize their own responsibility.
This creates vulnerability to unbudgeted remediation costs after an attack.
The skills shortage in the industry will likely continue for another five years, according to Gartner analyst John-David Lovelock, who suggests that firms should consider turning to managed services to address this issue.
Enterprises continue to struggle with attracting, maintaining, and retaining enough IT talent to meet their growing needs, leading to reliance on consultancies and managed services to support ongoing operations.
Link: https://www.channelweb.co.uk/news/4166891/mid-market-cybersecurity-jeopardised-talent-turnover-research