A survey of 250 information technology (IT), security, legal and risk professionals found that 83% of organizations suffered a cyberattack within the last two years, and half of those attacks breached critical IT assets.

The Telos Corporation study conducted by Vanson Bourne, "Critical IT Assets Need Protection Beyond Standard Network Security," revealed that nearly all organizations (99%) believe an attack on their critical IT assets would have repercussions not just for their organizations, but for society at large.

The results suggest that as the cyber threat landscape continues to grow in danger and complexity, organizations must take concerted steps to protect their IT networks. This is especially true when it comes to critical assets, in particular within banking, financial services and insurance; healthcare and life sciences; energy and utilities; K-12 education; and higher education sectors, where lost or stolen IT assets could result in devastating consequences for an organization and its community.

Key findings from the report include:

• Most security professionals (99%) believe they need to improve their ability to prevent an attacker from accessing critical assets once they have broken into the network.
• Ninety-five percent of those who have segmented and protected their critical IT assets believe that the assets are better protected as a result.
• However, 93% believe the tools they are currently using to protect their segmented assets are insufficient to defend their organization against cyber threats.

Click here to access additional findings and download the full report.