A new report from data management firm NetApp reveals that one in five companies—20 percent—fail to regain data lost as a result of a cyberattack, a scenario as devastating as a flood in which one in every five damaged homes is never rebuilt, leaving their owners with no option but to start over from scratch. This finding exposes a serious shortcoming in current cybersecurity and data recovery strategies and highlights the risk of data loss.
The study, titled “Cloud, Complexity, AI: The Triple Threat Demanding New Cyber Resilience Strategies,” surveyed more than 1,300 cybersecurity leaders worldwide. Over half of the organizations polled (54 percent) admitted experiencing a cyberattack in the past year. Rather than ransomware, misconfiguration and cloud storage vulnerabilities emerged as the leading concerns.
“This survey shines a light on the critical need for visibility and data-centric strategies,” said Daniel Newman, CEO at The Futurum Group. “By adopting intelligent data infrastructure solutions, organizations can better protect their assets, ensure swift recovery, and thrive amid ongoing disruptions.”
Our takeaways follow; you can access the whole report here.
Clouds Demand Scrutiny
The report finds that hybrid multi-cloud environments pose substantial risks. Misconfigurations and vulnerabilities now top the list of threats, often leading to data loss. Even surpassing ransomware. Experts say addressing these issues is essential for maintaining uninterrupted operations.
Tool Overload Hinders Cyber Resilience
Seventy percent of respondents reported using more than 40 separate cybersecurity tools, and 84 percent believe this widespread tool sprawl makes it harder to achieve and maintain cyber resilience. Streamlining these tools into a more coherent approach could simplify defenses and improve response times, reducing the chances of data loss.
AI Takes on a Bigger Role
Forty percent of surveyed organizations currently use artificial intelligence to detect threats, and many plan to expand its role in automating response and recovery. However, leaders emphasize the need for careful oversight to avoid false positives and maintain human judgment in critical decision-making.
Data Classification Boosts Recovery Efforts
Organizations with good data classification practices, not surprisingly, recover more effectively following an attack. Properly identifying and organizing data is a key factor in ensuring that critical information can be quickly restored.
Cybersecurity Budgets on the Rise
With cyberattacks becoming more expensive and more complex, over 90 percent of businesses expect to invest more in cybersecurity in the next year. Leaders want to spend on integrated, proactive approaches that streamline, protect data, and build resilience.
Recommendations
According to the report, enterprises must move towards intelligent data ecosystems, AI-based threat management, and advanced data classification in order to build stronger defenses. As attacks become more frequent, those companies that focus on resilient architectures and optimized tools will have the greatest chance of safeguarding their systems and recovering sooner from an attack.
Other News: 1/3 of Ransomware Victims Did Not Recover Data Even After Paying Up(Opens in a new browser tab).
Other News: U.S. officials urge Americans to use encrypted apps amid unprecedented cyberattack.
