Security News > 2020 > July > How COVID-19 has increased the risk of security threats

A report released Thursday by security service Exabeam contends that cyberthreats and financial risks have increased as the pandemic spread during the first half of 2020.

For "The Exabeam 2020 State of the SOC Report," Exabeam commissioned Censuswide to survey more than 1,000 IT security professionals at small and midsized companies in the US and UK. Among all the respondents, 80% said they experienced "Slightly to considerably more" cyberattack attempts in the first half of the year, breaking down to 88% in the US and 74% in the UK. A third of those surveyed were hit by a successful cyberattack during this period, triggering network downtime for 38% in the US and 40% in the UK. The pandemic has taken a financial toll as well, affecting security budgets and employees.

Further, 75% were impacted by furloughs of security team members, while 68% said that security staffers were laid off.

Rather, communications with security teams and communications with other IT groups were the largest obstacles, especially as interactions between IT and security teams can be difficult to handle remotely.

Among the respondents, 60% said that their companies deferred planned investments in security technology, with 68% in the US and 51% in the UK. "Companies are grappling with the security fallout from an unexpected shift to remote work, but it's business as usual for cybercriminals and foreign adversaries with unprecedented opportunity," Steve Moore, chief security strategist at Exabeam, said in a press release.

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