2021 Global Digital Trust Insights

Cybersecurity comes of age

38%

will increase their cyber budget in 2021
40%

plan to increase their cybersecurity headcount
79%

see social engineering as a very likely threat this year
63%

see a Cyber-attack on cloud services as a very likely event this year

What Swiss business and technology experts expect in the coming months

Digital transformation in the wake of Covid-19 and high-profile cyber-attacks in Switzerland has accentuated the need for security.

Responses from the Swiss business and technology experts surveyed paint a fascinating picture of perceived cyber-threats and impacts, how companies are responding, and what’s next on the cybersecurity agenda. Is Switzerland on top of things?

Of the Swiss executives polled, 38% say they will increase their cyber budget in 2021, versus 55% of the global sample. The research also showed that 40% of Swiss companies are making plans to increase their cybersecurity headcount in the next 12 months (compared with 51% of businesses globally).

Does that mean that Swiss companies are ahead of global players when it comes to their positioning in cyberspace?

What’s certain is that 2020 has brought many firsts. In cybersecurity, we’ve seen a surge in intrusions, ransomware and data breaches, along with an increase in phishing attempts. More and faster digitisation means an increase in digital threats and potential for harm to the business. One thing that stood out in the study is that more Swiss companies expect cyber-attacks than the global average. Social engineering tops the list of ‘very likely’ threat vectors (mentioned by 79%), while cyber-attacks on cloud services and ransomware breaches head the list of threats that will have ‘significantly negative impact’ (reported by 63% each).

What’s also certain is that cybersecurity has matured. Once just another branch of IT, it’s become a key driver of business continuity, digital trust and a company’s reputation, operations and profitability. Greater standardisation and specialisation have brought unprecedented opportunities for effective, efficient protection.

Read our blogs

Build resilience for any scenario

We asked executives to rank the likelihood of cyber threats and events affecting their industry, and the impacts on their organizations, over the coming year.

If you were to draw up a likelihood-impact grid containing the cyber threats, actors, and events your organization faces, what would it look like? How is your cyber spending allocated to address these?

Three trends in cybersecurity

Building a secure future in the cloud

Do you see your future in the cloud but fear the threats that lurk there? Find out how the latest cybersecurity approaches can close the gap between plans and protection.

Learn more

Fighting fires efficiently

Does cybersecurity really have to be part of your core business? Read how managed security services can spare you from having to reinvent the wheel.

Learn more

Outsmarting the bad actors

Do you know where the bad guys will strike? Read how state-of-the-art intelligence and incident response can give you the confidence to go about your business in cyberspace. Prevent and respond to social engineering, cyber criminals and ransomware.

Learn more

About the survey

The 2021 Global Digital Trust Insights is a survey of 3,249 business, technology, and security executives (CEOs, corporate directors, CFOs, CISOs, CIOs, and C-Suite officers) conducted in July and August 2020. Fifty-five percent of respondents are executives in large companies ($1 billion and above in revenues); 15% are in companies with $10 billion or more in revenues. Female executives make up 28% of the sample.

Respondents operate in a range of industries: Tech, media, telecom (22%), Retail and consumer markets (20%), Financial services (19%), Industrial manufacturing (19%), Health (8%), and Energy, utilities, and resources (8%).

Respondents are based in various regions: Western Europe (34%), North America (29%), Asia Pacific (18%), Latin America (8%), Eastern Europe (4%), Middle East (3%), and Africa (3%).