For the second year running, ITWeb, in partnership with VMware, is conducting an intensive cyber security survey, aimed at revealing the trends and issues that affect South African organisations today.
Ranka Jovanovic, ITWeb's editorial director, says the survey aims to determine the current state of cyber security readiness in South Africa by getting input from the people who are managing their organisation's cyber security: chief information security officers (CISOs) and other high-level security professionals.
Gareth James, network and security sales specialist at VMware South Africa, says surveys such as this one are important to provide insight into the top priorities of our local CISOs.
"We have ample foreign research, but it is critical for us to contextualise this in the South African paradigm."
Last year, the survey revealed the traditional approach of 'high walls' is not working, and a shift from perimeter security to a 'body armour' approach, of security being put around every object within the data centre, is taking place.
More than three-quarters of last year's respondents said they had been victims of impersonation and phishing, although fewer than 10% said actual penetration of the network occurred.
What will be interesting to see, says Jovanovic, is how ransomware features in this year's survey, as reports indicate a steady drop over the last 12 months. "Last year, ransomware topped this list in terms of attacks by outsiders. It will be interesting to see how this figure will change, and more importantly, what will take its place."
Moreover, she says, the survey will show if, in the wake of a turbulent and costly 2018, during which many of the world's organisations fell victim to attackers, IT security budgets have been affected, and how they compare to last year.
As with last year, a sneak preview of the results will be divulged at ITWeb Security Summit 2019, to be held from 27 to 31 May at Sandton Convention Centre. The full results are available to survey respondents exclusively, and will be compiled by ITWeb's research team and released in June.
To view last year's report in PDF format: ITWeb's 2018 Information Security Survey, in association with VMware
To complete the 2019 survey, click here.
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