Trend Micro forecasts major risks for organizations in 2022

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global provider of cybersecurity solutions, announced the results of its most recent global Cyber Risk Index (CRI) for the second half of 2021, which stood at -0.04, indicating an elevated risk level in the Middle East and Africa (included under “all regions”).

According to respondents, 76% of global organizations expect to be successfully attacked in the next 12 months.

Trend Micro and the Ponemon Institute conducted the semi-annual CRI report, which asked specific questions to measure the gap between respondents’ preparedness for attack and their likelihood of being attacked. 

According to the findings, the threats that organizations around the world are most concerned about are ransomware, phishing/social engineering, and denial of service (DoS). Organizations are most concerned about mobile/remote employees, cloud computing, and third-party applications when it comes to IT infrastructure.

“Enterprises of all sizes will continue to have growing concerns on protecting their digital assets as the adoption of technological innovations increases and hybrid workplaces continue to present greater challenges,” said Dr. Moataz Bin Ali, Area Vice President and Managing Director, MEA, Trend Micro. “The evolving threat landscape can create a volatile and demanding digital environment, requiring smart risk management and preparedness with industry-leading solutions and foresight to protect every activity and device in the digital ecosystem. The CRI report acts as a guide offering valuable insight into how organizations in the region should prioritize the adoption of a robust security strategy to combat threat actors to secure their digital journeys going forward”

The report highlights many organizations’ ongoing challenges in securing digital investments made during the pandemic. Such investments were required to support remote working, increase business efficiencies and agility, and comprehend the corporate attack surface.

The highest levels of risk were around the following statements: 

• My organization’s IT security function supports security in the DevOps environment.
• My organization’s IT security leader (CISO) has sufficient authority and resources to achieve a strong security posture.
• My organization’s IT security function strictly enforces acts of non-compliance to security policies, standard operating procedures, and external requirements.

The report’s findings indicate that more resources should be allocated to people, processes, and technology around the world in order to improve preparedness and lower overall risk levels.