The threat situation is real and companies can protect themselves. Cisco examined how they do this in its 'Security Outcomes Study', for which more than 5,100 security and data protection experts from 27 countries, including Germany, were surveyed. The result: almost half of the security technologies used in German companies are outdated and poorly prepared for cyber incidents. Furthermore, according to the study, only 19% of security and data protection experts in Germany believe that they can manage the most important risks. Only a few more, namely 20%, see themselves as capable of avoiding major incidents. These are the lowest figures in an international comparison.

"The growing threat situation is only one side of the coin. The other: Increasing compliance requirements, the shortage of skilled workers and a hybrid workforce make IT security highly complex today. In Germany, many security solutions are not up to date - this can currently become a problem," says Michael von der Horst, Managing Director Cybersecurity at Cisco Germany.

The problem of outdated security technology can be observed worldwide: Around 39% of security technologies used by companies as outdated. In Germany, as many as 48% of respondents report outdated IT infrastructure. The source of supply plays a decisive role here: companies with cloud-based architectures update more than twice as often as companies with on-premises technologies. In Germany, two thirds would therefore like to expand their cloud-based security technology for proactive modernization. 44% of respondents in Germany already have an active update strategy to stay up to date.

Automating processes

Cisco 'Security Outcomes Study': How companies protect themselves against security risks.

© Cisco

The growing shortage of specialists in the cyber security sector and the increasing number of attacks are presenting companies with challenges. One solution to these problems lies in automation: processes can be made more effective and manual effort can be reduced. Companies with well-integrated security technologies are seven times more likely to achieve a high level of process automation and have a more than 40% better ability to detect threats. In addition, automation can more than double the performance of less experienced employees. In Germany in particular, this is an important advantage, as only 18% of respondents believe they can retain their security experts in the long term.

Data protection is gaining in importance

When it comes to their own strengths, however, 26% of the security and data protection experts surveyed in Germany put meeting compliance requirements in first place. Cisco's Data Privacy Benchmark Study 2022, for which around 5,000 IT, security and privacy professionals were also surveyed, shows the importance of data protection. According to the study, 90% of respondents now consider data protection to be business-critical. As a result, investments are also increasing: German companies spend an average of 3.3 million dollars per year on this. This puts them in second place in Europe behind the Netherlands and well ahead of France, Spain and Italy.

Nevertheless, the effort is worth it: on average, respondents estimate the return on investment of their data protection investments to be 1.8 times the expenditure. More than 60% believe that they derive significant business benefits from data protection, for example through fewer delays in turnover, avoidance of data breaches, more innovation, greater efficiency and improved attractiveness of the company.