The majority of C-Suite executives and policymakers in the United States believe investing in security software, infrastructure and emerging technologies is critical to protecting U.S. data from growing cybersecurity risks, according to a newly released survey.
Asked what would make the U.S. government better equipped to secure data, 51 percent of C-Suite executives and 62 percent of policymakers cite investing in IT/security infrastructure; 59 percent of the C-Suite and 60 percent of policymakers cite investing in security software. When it comes to their own security investments over the next 24 months, 44 percent of C-Suite executives and 33 percent of policymakers plan to purchase new software with enhanced security; and 37 percent and 25 percent, respectively, plan to invest in new infrastructure solutions to improve security.
The report, “Security in the Age of AI” detailing the views and actions of C-Suite executives, policymakers and the general public related to cybersecurity and data protection, was released by Oracle.
In addition, both C-Suite executives and policymakers rank “human error” as the top cybersecurity risk for their organizations. However, in the next two years, they are choosing to invest more in people—via training and hiring—than in technology, such as new types of software, infrastructure, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), which is essential to advancing security and significantly minimizing human error. Only 38 percent of C-Suite executives and 26 percent of policymakers plan to invest in AI and ML to improve security in the next 24 months.
“We are at a critical juncture in our cybersecurity journey, as more decision makers in the public and private sector recognize the benefits of investing in next-generation technology designed for security to make progress on addressing previously intractable threats, instead of relying solely on people or legacy technology,” said Edward Screven, Chief Corporate Architect at Oracle. “That said, there is a delta between what C-Suite executives and policymakers think is best for America’s cyber future and the actions they are taking for their own organizations, indicating a greater need for business and government to understand how and why next-generation technologies are so critical for their own cyber defenses.”
Queried about what their organization has done over the past five years to improve security, both C-Suite executives and policymakers said they had upgraded existing software (60 percent and 52 percent respectively) and trained existing staff (57 percent and 50 percent respectively). Just over half (54 percent) of C-Suite executives and 41 percent of policymakers have purchased new software with enhanced security features, with 40 percent of C-Suite executives and 27 percent of policymakers have invested in new infrastructure solutions.
