Second annual international survey finds Indian security professionals are confident, despite a global decline in assurance that cyber defenses are meeting expectations
MUMBAI, India / COLUMBIA, Md., – December 19, 2016 – According to the 2017 Global Cybersecurity Assurance Report Card released by Tenable Network Security®, Inc., a global leader transforming security technology for the business needs of tomorrow, India earned the highest overall global score in cybersecurity confidence, with 84 percent (B).
India debuted in the annual survey this year, beating out last year’s leader in overall score, the United States, which fell two points to second place with 78 percent (C+). The overall global cybersecurity confidence, on the other hand, fell six points over 2016 to earn a 70 percent (C-).
The 2017 Global Cybersecurity Assurance Report Card solicited insights from 700 security practitioners in nine countries and across seven industry verticals to calculate a global index score reflecting overall confidence that the world’s cyber defenses are meeting expectations.
While the 2017 Global Risk Assessment Index dropped by 12 percent, India stayed ahead of the curve with an above average rating of 73 percent (C).
“India’s high cybersecurity confidence is certainly a positive trend, especially when the global outlook is gloomy,” said Manoj Taskar, Country Manager India & SAARC, Tenable Network Security. “These scores are a testament to the increased focus Indian enterprises have towards security as they embrace the digital economy. There has been a conscious effort from various stakeholders in the industry to empower the security ecosystem of the country, and we are now seeing the results.”
Despite leading in overall grades, Indian security professionals struggle with assessing risks in new and emerging technologies. This year’s data indicate that the growing adoption of containerization platforms and DevOps environments poses new challenges, with respondents grading themselves a 68 percent (D+) in their ability to assess risk in both categories.
Globally, security practitioners continue to face challenges in securing cloud and BYOD environments, while web application security emerged as a bigger risk this year than in 2016, dropping 18 points to 62 percent (D-).
“This year’s research reveals that Indian CISOs must prepare themselves and their organizations for the new security challenges of the modern workplace,” said Taskar. “Across industry verticals and around the world, organizations are struggling to assess IT security risks brought on by new technologies. Leveraging data and insights from the Global Cybersecurity Assurance Report Card, IT teams can improve their security program effectiveness and better prepare themselves for continued technological innovation.”
Other Key Findings
o India earned higher Risk Assessment and Security Assurance scores than the US and Canada
o India’s security pros rated themselves high (96 percent) in “aggregating risk intelligence”
o Indian practitioners find it challenging to assess security risks in laptops and notebooks, earning a 58 percent (F)
o “Overwhelming cyber threat environment” continues to be the topmost challenge for practitioners globally
o Education (64 percent) and Government (63 percent) earned the lowest overall scores among the seven industry verticals surveyed
About the 2017 Global Cybersecurity Assurance Report Card
Tenable surveyed 700 IT security professionals employed by organizations with 1,000+ employees in September 2016. A 12-question web-based survey asked respondents to provide a rating on a five-point scale. By adding together the two most-favorable responses (e.g., strongly agree + somewhat agree) for each question, and then averaging together associated responses, two summary indices were derived. The Risk Assessment Index measured an organization’s ability to assess cybersecurity risks across 11 key components of enterprise IT infrastructure. The Security Assurance Index measured an organization’s ability to mitigate threats by investing in security infrastructure fueled by executive and board level commitment. The index scores were combined to produce the overall report card score for each country and industry. For more information visit tenable.com/2017-global-cybersecurity-assurance-report-card.
About Tenable Network Security
Tenable Network Security transforms security technology for the business needs of tomorrow through comprehensive solutions that provide continuous visibility and critical context, enabling decisive actions to protect your organisation. Tenable eliminates blind spots, prioritises threats, and reduces exposure and loss. With more than one million users and more than 20,000 enterprise customers worldwide, organizations trust Tenable for proven security innovation. Tenable’s customers range from Fortune Global 500 companies, to the global public sector, to mid-sized enterprises in all sectors, including finance, government, healthcare, higher education, retail and energy. Transform security with Tenable, the creators of Nessus® and leaders in continuous monitoring, by visiting tenable.com.