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2024 CDW Cybersecurity Research Report: Zero Trust, Employee Training Among the Critical Cybersecurity Strategies for Organizations

By: CDW via Business Wire

June 03, 2024 at 09:29 AM EDT

CDW’s security report highlights the importance of organizational buy-in, improved readiness and visibility across the cybersecurity landscape.

CDW (Nasdaq: CDW), a leading multi-brand provider of information technology solutions to business, government, education and healthcare customers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, today announced its release of the “2024 CDW Cybersecurity Research Report.” The report examined the successes and struggles that organizations across industries experienced as they assess cybersecurity readiness in the modern technology ecosystem. The survey of more than 950 U.S. technology and security professionals offered several insights.

The cybersecurity landscape is constantly advancing and undergoing significant shifts driven by evolving threats, technological advancements and changing market dynamics. 88 percent of respondents said they are somewhat (50 percent) or very (38 percent) confident that they have sufficient visibility into their cybersecurity posture. Of those who were very confident, 61 percent indicated that identity and access management (IAM) solutions were very effective in enhancing visibility into their environment. Despite the confidence around visibility, about half (49 percent) of respondents still feel only somewhat prepared to handle a breach.

“Overall, this study reinforces the importance of maintaining cybersecurity vigilance through a multi-layer approach,” said Stephanie Hagopian, vice president of security at CDW. “As the survey data shows, and what we see with our customers, keeping pace with the threat landscape and leveraging IAM solutions help improve visibility and enhance control over access to critical systems, but only represent one vector within a multi-faceted security strategy. The best approach also requires multiple security tools and platforms to effectively defend and protect against threats. It’s ultimately the combination of these elements into a comprehensive strategy that drives confidence, the right outcomes and ultimately reduces risk.”

One aspect of critical strategy for cybersecurity is zero trust. Survey results indicated that over 41 percent of respondents have reached an advanced level of maturity in their zero-trust journey, yet just 12 percent reported feeling that they have achieved an optimal level. Additionally, more than 43 percent of respondents indicated they had suffered a breach costing between $1 million and $10 million in downtime.

“These results are aligned with what we’ve been seeing over the past couple years,” said Buck Bell, director of CDW’s Global Security Strategy Office. “Organizations are operating under the assumption that even if they haven’t been compromised, a breach is likely inevitable at one point or another. In a sense, that’s the entire basis of zero-trust.”

The 2024 CDW Cybersecurity Research Report found that insufficient or ineffective employee cybersecurity training (31 percent) and budgetary resources (27 percent) are two of the biggest items missing from respondents’ cybersecurity approach. In making the case for funding, 76 percent of respondents indicated that showing the cost of a data breach was an effective method in making the case for additional investments in cybersecurity.

"CDW and its customers tackle these issues daily, working together to build resilience strategies, stay a step ahead of the evolving landscape and successfully deliver on business outcomes,” said Bell. “By applying a more holistic view of the enterprise, and examining cyber risks as business risks, we're able to help customers better quantify the potential impacts and evaluate solutions through a risk lens with both business needs and financial impacts in mind."

Please visit CDW.com/2024CybersecurityReport for a copy of the complete report. For more information about CDW’s cybersecurity capabilities and offerings, please visit CDW.com.

About CDW

CDW Corporation is a leading multi-brand provider of information technology solutions to business, government, education and healthcare customers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. A Fortune 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Index, CDW helps its customers to navigate an increasingly complex IT market and maximize return on their technology investments. For additional information, please visit www.CDW.com.

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