06 Sep Financial IT teams under pressure over security protocols
An overwhelming 82% of IT decision makers who are working in financial organisations in the United Arab Emirates are under pressure to level up their security protocols. The latest stats come from new research from Citrix, which also reveals 72% of respondents say IT security risks within the industry are increasing in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It is no surprise that security has become an even greater priority since the pandemic began,” says Amir Sohrabi, Area Vice President for Emerging Markets at Citrix. “As remote work became ubiquitous overnight, and employees were more likely to be distracted by personal and professional stressors, cyberattacks have increased across the globe.”
The study also looked at where that pressure was coming from. Employees were most likely to be the pushing for improved security – with 67% of IT workers stating so. Customers made up the next largest group with 48% reporting this pressure, followed by government (45%) and then shareholders (31%).
Despite this pressure, the majority (95%) of IT professionals say they are comfortable with the level of their IT security provisions, and 86% reporting that their organisation’s IT security team have all the necessary skills needed to handle today’s challenges.
There’s no room for complacency however, as IT workers are focused on staying ahead of the game. Hiring externally to ensure the right skillset for future attacks was on the mind of 87% of respondents from the UAE, while the same number also felt that at some point, IT security teams in their organisation would ‘need to be entirely reskilled’.