Productivity, Operations Hardest-Hit by Endpoint Attacks

Endpoint infections are more likely to affect operational outcomes than data loss or finances, researchers report. Nearly one-third of IT and security pros say interruptions to standard business processes are the biggest effect on compromised endpoints, followed by impeding the productivity of knowledge workers (31%) and delays to other IT projects (28%).

In a new Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) study titled "Top-of-mind Threats and Their Impact on Endpoint Security Decisions," researchers polled 300 IT and security professionals from the US (43%), Japan (21%), UK (13%), France (12%), and Germany (11%) to learn about the endpoint security threats keeping them on their toes.

Cybercriminals, phishing, and unknown malware are top security concerns. Ninety percent of respondents state they are "very concerned" or "concerned" about cybercriminals, 82% are worried about nation-state cyberespionage, 79% fear hacktivists, and 78% worry about insiders.

Email phishing attacks with a malicious attachment (55%) or link to malicious website (54%) are the most commonly used attack vectors against organizations in the past two years. Known malware is a problem, according to 35% of participants, but unknown malware is more concerning. Nearly 30% say unknown malware is the top attack form, and 44% report it's the greatest risk to their organization's endpoints, according to the report, which was commissioned by Cylance.

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