Professionals overconfident in security tools: Keysight Survey  

The survey found that just over half (57 per cent) of security professionals were confident their current security solutions are working as intended, yet only 35 per cent of survey respondents stated that they conduct testing to ensure their security products are configured and operating as they expect. To close this gap, 86 per cent of respondents see strong value in security test solutions that can actively test their company’s security products and posture, using both internal and external attack vectors.

"Enterprises are faced with a continuous stream of cyberattacks that threaten their businesses, and in many cases, they attempt to deal with these by buying more security tools. Yet they do not know whether these products are delivering the protection they expect,” said Scott Register, vice president, security solutions at Keysight’s Network Applications & Security Group (formerly Ixia Solutions Group).

“The disconnect is when good security tools are misconfigured or security teams lack the skills to use their tools. This situation leads to overspending on overlapping tools and compromises an organisation’s security posture. Ongoing testing of security solutions would give organisations the proof and confidence that they are protected, but also would provide the opportunity to save resources.”

Key findings from the Security Operations Effectiveness survey include:

• Organisations are breached often: 75 per cent of respondents said their company had experienced a security breach (unauthorised intrusion, malware, hack, among others) and 47 per cent have experienced three or more breaches in the last three years. • Good security tools do not always protect as expected: 50 per cent of survey respondents stated they found a security solution was not working as expected after a breach had occurred. • Most organisations do not verify their security is working as it should: Only 35 per cent of respondents have test-based evidence to prove their security products are configured and working correctly. • Less than half of organisations practice breach responses: 49 per cent of respondents stated they actively practice how to remediate and respond to security incidents. • Overlapping security product functions waste budgets and time: 66 per cent of companies are using security solutions whose functions overlap, and for 41 per cent of respondents this overlap is unintentional, wasting security budgets and management time without strengthening the organisation’s security posture. • The value of security testing: 86 per cent of respondents stated they would value a solution that finds and helps to remediate vulnerabilities in a company’s security posture. 79 per cent of those surveyed would remove a security product from their infrastructure if they could prove it was not effective.

Keysight commissioned Dimensional Research to conduct the survey in November 2019. A total of 307 participants that strategise, architect, manage, and operate enterprise security solutions completed the survey. Participants were from all five continents. They represented large (48 per cent), medium (41 per cent), and small (11 per cent) organisations across a wide variety of industries.

Keysight Technologies, Inc. is a leading technology company that helps enterprises, service providers, and governments accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Keysight's solutions optimise networks and bring electronic products to market faster and at a lower cost with offerings from design simulation to prototype validation, manufacturing test, and optimisation in networks and cloud environments. Customers span the worldwide communications ecosystem, aerospace and defence, automotive, energy, semiconductor, and general electronics end markets. Keysight generated revenues of $4.3 billion in the 2019 fiscal year.

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