Organizations must prepare for cyberattacks from all angles – state-backed, internal, and external actors – heightening the need for a Zero Trust security model.

Ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly pervasive and malicious, shifting from days of simply deploying disruptive malware to new territory of exfiltrating sensitive, privileged data in return for significant payouts. It’s become big business. Attacks continue to plague organizations across all industries, from gasoline suppliers and universities to financial institutions. These attacks aren’t just coming from the outside. Nearly half (48%) of employees and leaders have been approached directly to help in planning ransomware attacks, revealed Hitachi ID in a new survey published today.

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The rise in remote and hybrid work environments combined with digital transformation has opened organizations to wider access and a heightened risk of an internal attack. Of those solicited to assist in ransomware attacks, 83% say it has become more prominent since employees started working from home – further emphasizing the need for businesses to take a proactive security offense to verify identities and access to tighten cybersecurity. As a result, 69% of executives have increased cyber education for employees in the last six months.

“As cyberattacks grow in sophistication and payouts, security leaders can no longer rely on traditional or reactive access security,” said Nicholas Brown, CEO of Hitachi ID. “As organizations continue to grow their businesses in an increasingly risky cybersecurity landscape, leaders need to deliver a frictionless environment that enables productivity while employing fundamental Zero Trust principles of trust nothing, verify everything. It’s a complex balance that many companies need help to achieve.”

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Micro-segmentation, software-defined perimeters, and enhanced identity governance are three approaches the National Institute of Standards and Technology identifies for implementing a Zero Trust architecture. But while implementing Zero Trust is the gold standard for security, it is important to keep in mind that Zero Trust is a journey, not a destination – and it can take time.

Other relevant survey findings include:

• Eighty-one percent of respondents think government bodies should play a more prominent role in defining national cybersecurity protocol and infrastructure.
• Seventy-six percent of respondents are concerned about government-backed cyberattacks affecting their organization.
• Forty-seven percent say they do not think the government is taking enough action to protect businesses from cyberattacks.

The survey, conducted by Pulse on behalf of Hitachi ID, garnered responses from 100 IT security executives across North America at mid-sized and enterprise companies.

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