Cybersecurity, Italian companies unprepared for new cyber threats
Zscaler presented in Milan the Italian data of their research on cyber risk (conducted by Sapio Research on 1750 IT decision-makers in 14 countries)
Italian companies admit it: they are losing sight of the external, innovative cyber threat. They are not ready for the new pitfalls that come from artificial intelligence. In general, they still do cyber security the old-fashioned way (perimeter defence). Thus, a disaster is inevitable sooner or later. "The digital backbone of modern business is fragile at worrying levels," summarises Marco Catino, senior manager, sales engineering at Zscaler Italy, who on 24 March presented in Milan the Italian data of their research on cyber risk (conducted by Sapio Research on 1750 IT decision-makers in 14 countries).
Defences are inadequate. This is a global problem, but one that occurs specifically in Italia, according to the research. Only 34 per cent of global companies are 'very confident' that they have done everything possible against the risks. In Italia it is 24 per cent.
More than half of Italian companies, 53%, admit that their strategy remains too inward-looking. It means being exposed to increasing risks related to suppliers, partners, the supply chain. Exactly: 55% of Italian companies say they have already experienced a failure or disruption caused by a supplier or third party, while 62% report a higher dependence on contractors and partners than in the past. Yet only 35% take the necessary measures to control third-party risk. Half of the companies assess the cyber resilience of the supply chain only quarterly or even more infrequently.
The lag can also be seen on the artificial intelligence front, where the speed of adoption runs ahead of governance. 45% of Italian IT managers believe that current security systems are unable to defend the company against emerging threats. Sixty-two per cent admit they do not track employees' use of AI and 47 per cent fear this opacity is already exposing sensitive company data.
On the other hand, we are ahead in the testing of agent-based AI, autonomous software: 52 per cent of companies against 42 per cent; we are behind, however, in actual adoption (15 per cent against 34 per cent). In any case, running ahead without clear risk governance is a gamble: as many as 66 per cent of Italian companies say they do not have it, compared to 50 per cent of global companies.
