Every fifth company in Poland has increased its cybersecurity budget due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study conducted by ARC Rynek i Opinia, commissioned by Fortinet. The most funds were allocated to the purchase of new protective solutions and licenses for tools securing the working environment in employees’ homes. Although 84% of companies increased the number of people working remotely, in most cases the change of the model of performing duties was smooth.
“We see a big change that has taken place in the last three years. According to a study we carried out in 2017, only 31% of respondents believed that cybersecurity is prioritized by management boards. Fortunately, this way of thinking is changing, which is very important, especially now, when remote work has created new challenges for cybersecurity. The management board’s expectations as to the frequency of reporting security-related activities have also increased “- said Jolanta Malak, director of Fortinet in Poland, quoted in the press release.
“The pandemic forced many companies to make changes that otherwise would not have been introduced, or would have taken much longer to implement. More than half of the companies (54%) that introduced remote staff work had not previously been practiced. In some cases, the process ran without major problems: 54% of companies declared that it was smooth and without the need to adapt to changes, and 23% needed less than a week for it, “the press release reads.
58% of the respondents implemented remote work on the basis of the existing security policy, and 34% needed only minor corrections. This is a good proof of the current IT security policy of companies, it was also reported.
“However, respondents saw that the pandemic brought with it new types of security risks and made the existing ones more visible. This influenced the perspective of people on management boards who appreciated the importance of security in planned activities in the area of business continuity. A total of 88% of respondents admitted that cybersecurity is a priority or at least important for the management board “- we read further.
In the past six months, every fifth company increased its IT security budget. The most funds were allocated to new security solutions and services, such as firewalls or anti-virus software (51%). The new realities also forced the necessity to invest in licenses for security software installed on devices of remote workers, implementation of new security rules as well as training and certification of personnel. 41% of companies saw the need to modernize the existing security. The lowest priority was recruiting new employees responsible for security, they were also replaced.
“The biggest challenge for enterprises when switching to remote work was to provide employees with appropriate equipment for work, such as laptops (45% of responses), and then remote installation of appropriate software (23%). The pandemic also made it necessary to deal with failures remotely equipment (21%). There were separate problems related to personnel management (mainly training them to use remote work tools and applying security rules), as well as a change of mentality in relation to working from home “- it was also stated.
“This model of performing duties was something completely new for many people. In addition, it was difficult to get used to the new conditions when other household members also worked remotely or had e-lessons. In such a situation, at least initially, it was not easy to fully retain attention and concentration, which posed a higher risk of a security breach, “added Malak.
