Armis: End Users Lack Awareness of Major Cyber Attacks

Armis, a leading unified asset visibility, and security platform provider, today released new data uncovering the lack of knowledge and general awareness of major cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and an understanding of security hygiene. 

The survey found that end users are not paying attention to the major cybersecurity attacks affecting operational technology and critical infrastructure across the country, signaling the importance of businesses prioritising a focus on security as employees return to the office. 

According to Armis, in the past year, 65,000 ransomware attacks occurred in the United States, which equates to, approximately 7 attacks per hour, a rate that is expected to continue to rise. 

“The attacks on our critical infrastructure are clear evidence of the need for cybersecurity and assurance to all our utility providers and players,” said Curtis Simpson, CISO at Armis. “It is also an unfortunate example of the huge vulnerability of an aging infrastructure that has been connected, directly or indirectly, to the internet. Organisations must be able to know what they have, track behaviour, identify threats, and immediately take action to protect the safety and security of their operations. This data shows that there is less consumer attention on these attacks as we might expect, and so that responsibility falls to businesses to shore up their defences.” 

Key Findings of the Survey

• Lack of Education and Awareness Of Cyberattacks: Despite major attacks making headlines across the world, respondents showed a lack of awareness of these attacks and their impact on consumers and businesses. Over 21% of respondents have not even heard about the cyberattack on the largest US fuel pipeline, and almost half (45%) of working Americans did not hear about the attempted tampering of Florida’s water supply.

• The Severity Of The Attacks Is Not Sticking: Despite the complete shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline following the attack, and the halting of production at JBS, consumers don’t see the lasting effects of these attacks. 24% of respondents believe that the Colonial Pipeline attack will not have any long-lasting effects on the US fuel industry.

• Healthcare Could be The Next Frontier For Hackers: According to a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Armis, 63% of healthcare delivery organisations have experienced a security incident related to unmanaged and IoT devices over the past two years. Yet today’s data shows that when it comes to device security, over 60% of healthcare employees believe that their personal devices do not pose any security threat to their organisation. 

• Employees are Putting Businesses at Risk Through Devices: As COVID restrictions begin to lighten, enterprises are starting to talk about the return to the office. The data shows that over 71% of employees intend to bring their WFH devices back to the office, with over 82% of that group being IT professionals, whose main job function is to ensure the security of the organisation. Despite the risks prevalent, 54% don’t believe their personal devices pose any security risk/threat to their organisation.

Risks of attack are continuing to rise, and with businesses moving towards hybrid work, it is more important than ever that businesses consider security protections are in place. Planning ahead, and making sure security policies are in the company’s everyday practice are good ways to stay alert.