Security’s Lament: The state of cyber security in the UK
The future belongs to organisations that create a strong cyber security foundation. Security preparations are essential to dealing with costly threats but also support innovation and enable revenue growth. Capturing this broader value requires the alignment of security plans with IT and business strategies.
But maintaining a robust cyber security strategy remains a work in progress for many organisations in the UK, which must develop, update, and execute their plans while combatting an unprecedented number of attacks. Significant changes across the security industry—mergers and acquisitions have consolidated certain segments, and new players enter almost daily—make the challenge even more complex.
The best-performing organisations understand the operational, financial, and reputational damage that can be done by a single cyber security incident. These organisations:
- Know where they are vulnerable to threats from within and without;
- Foster a cross-functional culture of security;
- Include security expertise on their boards;
- Procure, train, and upskill the right workers; and
- Strategically invest to modernise cyber security operations.
To better understand how cyber security decision-makers are implementing their plans, Oxford Economics and iomart surveyed 500 executives responsible for their organisation’s cyber strategy. The sample comprises executives from a range of industries—most with more than 1,000 employees—all based in the UK.
About the team
Our Thought Leadership team produces original, evidence-based research made accessible to decision-makers and opinion leaders. Principals for this project included:
Kayla Luparello
Research Associate, Thought Leadership
Teri Robinson
Managing Editor, Thought Leadership
