Report highlights top security challenges and priorities

Arctic Wolf has published findings from its State of Cybersecurity: 2023 Trends Report based on a survey the company commissioned of over 700 senior IT and cybersecurity decision-makers from over a dozen different countries.

Arctic Wolf’s 2023 Cybersecurity Trends Report provides security executives and practitioners with insight into the current and future state of the cybersecurity landscape so they can help their organisations deliver positive security outcomes in an ever-evolving threat environment and remain on the forefront of cyber defence.

Key findings from the report include:

• Ransomware Remains Rampant: Over half (55%) of respondents surveyed claimed their organisation suffered a ransomware attack last year, with almost three-quarters (74%) of those companies claiming to have paid some form of ransom.

• Almost Three Quarters of Organisations Choose to not Disclose Breaches: Half (50%) of organisations surveyed said that they suffered a data breach last year, but the large majority (72%) chose not to disclose the information out of fear of damage to company reputation, concerns over career consequences, worries over potential follow up breaches, fear of the impact to the organisation’s cyber insurance premiums, or because they were not legally obligated to.

• Cloud Tops Security Concerns for Second Year in a Row: Only 38% of respondents surveyed believe their cloud resources are secured properly, highlighting cloud security as the biggest area of concern, followed by vulnerabilities and patching (25%).

• Macroeconomic Factors Having a Minimal Impact: More than half (57%) of organisations surveyed said that their cybersecurity budget will increase this year, with 15% of these organisations expecting their budgets to balloon by 50% or more compared to 2022.

• Despite Layoffs, Staffing & Skills Shortages Remain Top Barrier to Organisations Achieving Their Objectives: 68% of organisations surveyed identified staffing related issues as the number one threat to achieving their objectives.

“We believe the insights found within our 2023 Cybersecurity Trends Report are a true pulse for the current state of cybersecurity and will help decision-makers better understand the security priorities

and challenges of their peers, allowing them to benchmark their investments, strategies, and opportunities against the rest of the industry, while informing their annual plans in a meaningful way,” said Christopher Fielder, field CTO, Arctic Wolf. “With half of organisations surveyed claiming to have experienced a data breach last year, it is easy to understand why, despite a tumultuous economic climate, the majority of businesses plan to increase their cybersecurity spending in the coming year. While we are encouraged by the overall trends in the report, it is clear that perennial challenges remain for cybersecurity professionals, including staff shortages, securing new attack surfaces, and preventing ransomware attacks.”