Acronis, a global cyber protection company based in Singapore, has discovered a discrepancy between the understanding of the need for data protection and the actions taken to achieve it.
A global survey conducted for World Backup Day on March 31st опросила 4,400 IT users and professionals across 22 countries and 6 continents, including Singapore. The results challenge the assumption that simply using more solutions will address cybersecurity and data protection concerns.
“This year’s Cyber Protection Week survey clearly shows that more solutions do not result in increased protection, as employing separate tools to combat each type of vulnerability is complex, inefficient, and expensive,” remarked Acronis Founder and CEO Serguei “SB” Beloussov.
“These findings support our view that cyber protection, which combines data protection, cybersecurity, and endpoint management into a single solution, is the more intelligent approach.”
According to the survey, there is a significant awareness gap among Singaporean users regarding available IT and cybersecurity capabilities. This could lead to avoidable losses of time, money, and security:
Over six in ten (63%) of IT users would be unaware of data modification without their knowledge due to the difficulty their current solutions have in detecting such tampering.
More than four in ten (43%) of IT users are unsure if their anti-malware solution can block zero-day threats. This is because their solution does not provide easy access to this information. Only 32% report having this information readily available. Easy access to such cybersecurity data is essential for ensuring data protection.
If those in charge of data privacy are unaware of their responsibility, they will be unable to develop strategies or assess the solutions needed to meet the requirements. In 2021, this lack of awareness exposes businesses to a significant risk of hefty penalties for potential compliance breaches.
The lack of visibility into such information is exacerbated for those who use multiple solutions to meet their IT and cybersecurity needs. They must not only remember which solution provides a specific data point, but they must also constantly switch between consoles to find the information they require, resulting in inefficiencies and missed opportunities.
Individuals’ lax approach to protection
The survey also found that Singaporean IT users have a lax attitude toward data protection:
Last year, 92 percent of IT users increased their device usage time, but only half took additional steps to secure those devices.
Four out of ten (41%) people admit to delaying device updates for at least a week or more after receiving a patch notification.
Nearly all IT users (97 percent) reported performing backups (5 percent back up daily), but 69 percent have lost data permanently at least once, implying that they do not know how to back up or recover data properly.
Individuals’ efforts to protect their data are failing to keep pace with threats, owing to false assumptions (such as the belief that Microsoft 365 backs up their data) or reliance on automated solutions.
Action items for Cyber Protection Week
The difficulties of protecting and securing data, applications, and systems will only grow in the post-pandemic world. Acronis suggests five simple steps to ensure data protection:
Back up your crucial information. Keep multiple copies of your backups, one local for quick recovery and one off-site in the cloud to ensure recovery in the event of a disaster that destroys your local copies.
Update your operating systems and software. Outdated systems and applications lack the security patches required to prevent cybercriminals from gaining access. Regular patching is required to prevent exploits.
Avoid opening suspicious emails, links, or attachments. The majority of malware infections are caused by social engineering techniques that deceive unsuspecting users into opening infected email attachments or clicking on links to malware-infected websites.
Install antivirus, anti-malware, and anti-ransomware software, and enable automatic updates to keep your system safe from malware.
Consider implementing a single cyber protection solution to gain the centralized management and integrated protection required to meet today’s IT requirements.