Companies are stopping more cyberattacks, but have room to improve defenses, survey shows

Big companies might experience more cyberattacks now than they did a year ago, but they are becoming more successful at blocking them, according to a new survey by global consultancy Accenture.

The survey found that 87 percent of focused cyberattacks are prevented, compared to 70 percent reported in a similar study a year ago, but the success rate could go even higher, Accenture said. Less than half of the surveyed companies are using technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation in the fight, the survey found.

“Only one in eight focused cyberattacks are getting through versus one in three last year, indicating that organizations are doing a better job of preventing data from being hacked, stolen or leaked,” Kelly Bissell, managing director of Accenture Security, said in a press release Monday. “While the findings of this study demonstrate that organizations are performing better at mitigating the impact of cyberattacks, they still have more work to do.”

For the report, “Gaining Ground on the Cyber attacker: 2018 State of Cyber Resilience,” Accenture canvassed 4,600 enterprise security practitioners that represent companies with revenues of $1 billion or more in 15 countries.

More than 80 percent of respondents agreed that acquiring new technology is essential to securing the future of organizations.

“Building investment capacity for wise security investments must be a priority for those organizations who want to close the gap on successful attacks even further,” Bissell said. “For business leaders who continue to invest in and embrace new technologies, reaching a sustainable level of cyber resilience could become a reality for many organizations in the next two to three years. That’s an encouraging projection.”