Cyber security has moved into first place on the list of IT leaders’ biggest concerns, an annual survey has found.
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, has highlighted the finding from its new IT Leaders 2020 report, based on responses from 302 of its members in all sectors.
It said 18% identified cyber security was top of their to-do list, moving it to the number one spot this year, going past cloud computing (16%) and remaining above AI and automation technologies (14%).
The finding was confirmed by the question ‘What keeps you awake at night?’ to which over 35% put the cyber security issue above any other, ahead of ‘pace of change’ with 15%.
Among the significant threats identified were ‘industrial espionage’, ‘data sovereignty post-Brexit’, ‘a sophisticated and advanced cyber attack’, and ‘a single error on a public site causing widespread disruption or data breach’.
Coronavirus effect
Paul Fletcher, chief executive of BCS, said: “Our members work at the forefront of major organisations where malicious exploitation of the coronavirus pandemic is adding to issues like the increased vulnerability of 5G, data breaches and regulatory uncertainty post-Brexit; all are combining to make cyber security the top priority.
“Beyond direct financial losses, cyber attacks also pose long term reputational and legal risks for organisations. IT leaders know true data security is as much about professionalism and people as it is about the tech, and investment in staff development is the single biggest thing that can be done to mitigate these risks.”
BCS said it is currently carrying out of a survey of professionals working in digital aspects of health and social care about their views on readiness to handle the coronavirus outbreak.
Image from iStock, Henrik Jonsson
