Australia Enhances Cybersecurity Following Serious Breaches

Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, released a new research report today stating that a recent series of damaging, high-profile data leaks in Australia has changed the way Australian organisations approach enterprise security and cybersecurity services.

The 2023 ISG Provider LensTM Cybersecurity — Solutions and Services report for Australia found that the attacks revealed escalating threats and transformed cybersecurity from an IT issue to a closely monitored enterprise challenge.

“Australian companies recognise the business dangers of data leaks,” said Joyce Harkness, director, ISG Cybersecurity, ANZ and Asia Pacific. “Top management and boards are increasingly interested in cyber risk and its quantification, and are involved in strategy, product, and service decisions.”

The Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme and the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre, a security incubator, have strengthened Australia's cybersecurity response. The national government recently released the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy, appointed the first cyber security coordinator, and started implementing the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018.

The report says recent attacks showed even large Australian enterprises have cyber capability gaps. Most invested heavily in cybersecurity controls but only focused on preventing breaches and assumed all sensitive data was in offices. Remote work, digital engagement, the supply chain, and IoT have increased the attack surface. Employee phishing attacks and configuration mistakes are believed to be the root causes of recent leaks in Australia and elsewhere.

ISG says Australian enterprises have begun to assess their risk tolerance, evaluate current controls, and take a "assume breach" approach, recognising that not all breaches can be prevented and focusing on rapid detection and response.

The report predicts that many Australian companies will invest in cloud-based solutions like extended detection and response (XDR) as they migrate to the cloud in the coming years.

To relieve SOC pressure, companies with multiple cybersecurity tools, which often generate false positives that require manual intervention, will need more automation and interoperability. AI will protect IoT assets exponentially.

A customized version of the report is available from AC3.

Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research, predicted five years of strong growth in the Australian security market. “Enterprises and providers will invest heavily in new technologies and essential skills.”

The report also examines Australia's adoption of zero-trust frameworks and next-generation identity and access management (IAM) to improve security and customer experience.

The 2023 ISG Provider LensTM Cybersecurity — Solutions and Services report for Australia assesses 82 providers in six quadrants: Identity and Access Management (IAM), Extended Detection and Response (XDR), Security Service Edge (SSE), Technical Security Services, Strategic Security Services, and Managed Security Services – SOC.

IBM leads in four quadrants. Accenture, CyberCX, Deloitte, DXC Technology, Fujitsu, NTT DATA, Telstra, Tesserent, Verizon Business, and Wipro each lead three quadrants. Microsoft leads two quadrants. Bitdefender, Broadcom, Cato Networks, CGI, Cisco, CrowdStrike, CyberArk, EY, Forcepoint, HCLTech, Infosys, Kasada, KPMG, Netskope, Okta, Palo Alto Networks, Ping Identity, PwC, SailPoint, Tech Mahindra, Unisys, Versa Networks, VMware, and Zscaler each lead one quadrant.

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