Businesses are looking to increase their security budgets significantly this year and recruiting specialist security staff as they come to realise the importance of a watertight protection strategy.
The news comes off the back of a report by Armor and 451 Research, which exposed the lengths businesses are going to in order to make sure criminals can't break into their networks.
The report revealed that more than 80% of SMEs are planning to boost their security budget by 14% over the next year, while 89% say they've enhanced their security staff, appointing roles such as CISO, CSO and VP of infosecurity. When 451 Research last conducted a similar survey, only 53% of businesses said such positions existed in their company.
"These improvements, combined with the willingness of the SMEs to increase their cybersecurity budgets and designate an executive to focus on information security, is a positive signal that these companies are taking cybersecurity seriously," said Josh Bosquez, chief technology officer for Armor.
"There will always be challenges in maintaining one's security posture, no matter the size of the organization, so I am definitely optimistic when I see small and mid-size enterprises making significant strides to improve their cybersecurity efforts."
However, organisations are still struggling with cloud security, with 64% handling the protection of their cloud-based infrastructure themselves, despite the struggle to do so. And although businesses are boosting their security teams, a quarter of threats still go uninvestigated because they don't possess the automaton know-how or resources to combat all threats, which is potentially putting their business at risk.
The speed at which security incidents are investigated has improved, with almost two-thirds of businesses saying problems are responded to in less than an hour, with 83% of incidents investigated within six hours.
"Small and mid-size enterprises, faced with the same threats and challenges as large enterprises, are making significant strides in improving their overall security posture," said Aaron Sherrill, Senior Analyst for 451 Research.
"With cybersecurity threats on the rise, it's encouraging to see that SMEs are moving beyond basic security and are now tackling the more complex issues that come with the shift to a hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure."
