Global research finds external stakeholders are increasingly expecting vendors to meet specific security requirements to win and retain business
LogRhythm, the company empowering security teams to defend against the ever-evolving threat landscape, today announced the release of its report, “The State of the Security Team 2022: Can Security Teams Meet Internal and External Stakeholders’ Requirements?” based on research conducted by Dimensional Research. One of the most compelling findings was security’s impact on a company’s bottom-line revenue as the majority of respondents (67%) indicated their company had lost a business deal due to the customer’s lack of confidence in their security strategy.
Dimensional Research conducted a survey of 1,175 security professionals and executives across five continents representing a global view. The research investigated security solution capabilities, deployment strategies, gaps and the value of tool consolidation. The survey also looked to compare key data collected by LogRhythm and Dimensional Research in 2020 to identify and evaluate trends.
Security Is No Longer an Internal Affair
Respondents overwhelmingly indicated that customers and partners are demanding higher standards, highlighting that security has evolved beyond internal consideration. Ninety-one percent reported that their company’s security strategy and practices must now align to customers’ security policies and standards. Partners also exert a new level of due diligence with 85% of respondents stating their company must provide proof of meeting partners’ security requirements.
While LogRhythm’s initial report in 2020 revealed significant misalignment between executives and their security teams with less than half of respondents (43%) saying they received enough executive support, the latest research found support nearly doubled over the last two years. The majority of respondents (83%) said they now receive enough support around budget, strategic vision and buy-in, suggesting an improvement in understanding between executive leadership and their security teams.
“Given the increasing complexity and severity of cyber threats organizations are experiencing, cybersecurity is now a business imperative,” said Andrew Hollister, Chief Security Officer of LogRhythm. “Security events hold the potential to significantly impact revenue, which begs the attention of executive leadership and pushes more organizations to align on expectations both internally and externally.”
Security Teams are Feeling the Effects of Turnover
When asked if employee turnover reduces the effectiveness of their security teams, the overwhelming majority agreed regardless of their role with 77% of executives, 70% of directors and managers and 58% of security team members agreeing this has impact.
The research also found work-related stress for the security team is increasing for nearly 7 in 10 companies, with 30% reporting a significant increase, indicating many companies may be trying to do more with less amidst budget constraints.
The leading stressors for security team members include growing attack sophistication, more responsibilities and increasing attack frequency. When asked what would help alleviate their stress, the top responses included:
- 42% of respondents said adding more experienced security team members
- 41% of respondents said having more integrated security solutions
To download the full report or learn more about LogRhythm, please visit here.
Methodology
Security and IT professionals at medium to enterprise companies representing all seniority levels were invited to participate in a survey on their company’s security practices. The survey was administered electronically, and participants were offered a token compensation for their participation. A total of 1,175 qualified participants completed the survey in 2022 and 308 in 2020. All participants had enterprise security responsibilities. Participants were from five continents representing a global view.
About LogRhythm
LogRhythm helps security teams stop breaches by turning disconnected data and signals into trustworthy insights. From connecting the dots across diverse log and threat intelligence sources to using sophisticated machine learning that spots suspicious anomalies in network traffic and user behavior, LogRhythm accurately pinpoints cyberthreats and empowers professionals to respond with speed and efficiency.
With cloud-native and self-hosted deployment flexibility, out-of-the-box integrations, and advisory services, LogRhythm makes it easy to realize value quickly and adapt to an ever-evolving threat landscape. Together, LogRhythm and our customers confidently monitor, detect, investigate, and respond to cyberattacks. Learn more at logrhythm.com.