Report: U.S. businesses experience 42 cyberattacks per year

Keeper Security released its second annual 2022 U.S. Cybersecurity Census Report, which maps the transforming landscape of cybersecurity based on expert insights from 500+ IT decision-makers in U.S. businesses. This year’s findings clearly show that while cybersecurity is a key priority, staying a step ahead of bad actors is a continuous challenge -– and many businesses are not keeping pace.

According to survey respondents, U.S. businesses experience 42 cyberattacks each year. Of those, about three cyberattacks are successful. The overwhelming majority of respondents expect the total number of attacks will increase over the next year, with 39% predicting the number of successful cyberattacks will also increase.

Meanwhile, the financial, reputational and organizational repercussions of these attacks is also increasing, with businesses unable to carry out critical operations and losing contracts, among other damaging impacts. Of those organizations that had money stolen as the result of a cyberattack, the average amount was more than $75,000, and 37% of organizations lost $100,000 or more.

Investments in cybersecurity fall short

Despite these alarming statistics, one-third (32%) of U.S. IT leaders still lack a management platform for IT secrets, such as API keys, database passwords and privileged credentials.

One stolen password can lead to a devastating cyberattack. Still, fewer than half (48%) of respondents state they have plans to invest in password management, visibility tools for network-based threats or infrastructure secrets management.

A majority (71%) of respondents report making new hires in cybersecurity over the past year and 58% are increasing cybersecurity training.

Yet, while investment in cybersecurity is growing, cybersecurity is not yet a high enough organizational priority. IT leaders admit a lack of transparency in cyber incident reporting within their organizations. Nearly half (48%) of IT leader respondents reported being aware of a cyberattack in their organization but keeping it to themselves.

This lack of transparency will enable cybercriminals to thrive. Businesses must invest in cybersecurity tools, education and cultural shifts to protect their organizations in the evolving threat landscape.

Methodology

To develop its second annual U.S. Cybersecurity Census Report, Keeper Security surveyed 516 IT decision-makers in the U.S. in partnership with Sapio Research.

Read the full report from Keeper Security.