As the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdowns stretch into a third year, organizations are accelerating digital transformation projects to support remote work.

Meanwhile, attackers have seized on vulnerabilities in these environments, necessitating more work and larger budgets for security teams.

The 2022 Global State of Security report from Infoblox asked 1,100 respondents in IT and cybersecurity roles in 11 countries — United States, Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Australia, and Singapore — about developments in their cybersecurity operations and planning.

Companies in almost every country are increasing their cybersecurity spend, with specific focus on securing cloud and hybrid-based security. This could be reflective of a long-term remote workforce, according to the report.

Cybersecurity concerns in 2022

Data leakage, ransomware and remote workers comprise top U.S. businesses concerns, as, nearly half of respondents' organizations have incurred at least $1 million in direct and indirect damages from cyberattacks.

Though 60% of U.S. respondents reported five or more security incidents, two-thirds of them said that it didn’t lead to a breach. Eighty percent of respondents reported being able to respond to an incident within 24 hours.

According to the report, top cyberattack methods include data exfiltration (65%) and credential hijacking (44%). Once inside, organizations suffered data manipulation (50%), system outages or downtime (44%), and stolen and/or exposed sensitive data (38%).

Only 10% of respondents feel confident in their ability to stop an advanced attack, according to the report.

Almost a third of respondents plan to invest in network security in 2022, followed by access control and encryption.

Learn more about the findings here.