17 percent of companies surveyed in Vietnam ready to defend against cybersecurity threats

The index has been developed against the backdrop of a post-COVID, hybrid world, where users and data must be secured wherever work gets done. The report highlights where businesses are doing well and where cybersecurity readiness gaps will widen if global business and security leaders don’t take action.

Organizations have moved from an operating model that was largely static – where people operated from single devices from one location, connecting to a static network – to a hybrid world in which they increasingly operate from multiple devices in multiple locations, connect to multiple networks, access applications in the cloud and on the go, and generate enormous amount of data. This presents new and unique cybersecurity challenges for companies.

Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index: Resilience in a Hybrid World

Titled, Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index: Resilience in a Hybrid World, the report measures the readiness of companies to maintain cybersecurity resilience against modern threats. These measures cover five core pillars that form the baseline of required defenses: identity, devices, network, application workloads, and data, and encompasses 19 different solutions within the pillars.

Conducted by an independent third-party, the double-blind survey asked 6,700 private sector cybersecurity leaders across 27 markets to indicate which of these solutions they had deployed and the stage of deployment. Companies were then classified into four stages of increasing readiness: Beginner, Formative, Progressive and Mature.

• Beginner (Overall score of less than 10): At initial stages of deployment of solutions
• Formative (Score of between 11–44): Have some level of deployment, but performing below average on cybersecurity readiness
• Progressive (Score of between 45–75): Considerable level of deployment and performing above average on cybersecurity readiness
• Mature (Score of 76 and higher): Have achieved advanced stages of deployment and are most ready to address security risks

Alongside the stark finding that only 17% of companies in Vietnam are at the Mature stage, more than half of the companies fall into the Beginner (5%) or Formative (46%) stages. While organizations in Vietnam are faring better than the global average (15% companies in the Mature stage), the number is still very low, given the risks.

This is telling, not least because 92% respondents said they expect a cybersecurity incident to disrupt their business in the next 12 to 24 months. The cost of being unprepared can be substantial as 73% of respondents said they had a cybersecurity incident in the last 12 months, and 34% of those affected said it cost them at least US $500,000.

“The move to a hybrid world has fundamentally changed the landscape for companies and created even greater cybersecurity complexity. Organizations must stop approaching defense with a mix of point tools and instead, consider integrated platforms to achieve security resilience while reducing complexity,” said Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager of security and collaboration at Cisco. “Only then will businesses be able to close the cybersecurity readiness gap.”

Business leaders must establish a baseline of ‘readiness’ across the five security pillars to build secure and resilient organizations. This need is especially critical given that 93% of the respondents plan to increase their security budgets by at least 10 percent over the next 12 months. By establishing a base, organizations can build on their strengths and prioritize the areas where they need more maturity and improve their resilience.

“Vietnam’s digital economy has seen significant growth as the country pursues its digitalization ambitions and companies focus on developing and delivering digitally-enabled services,” said Thuy Thi Le Luong, Managing Director, Cisco Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. “As organizations embrace a hybrid and app-driven interconnected world, it is crucial for organizations to view cybersecurity as foundational to any digitalization efforts. The index is a reality check and stark reminder for organizations in Vietnam to adopt an integrated platform approach to security across the five pillars of security to build resilience in step with their growth.” Other key findings of the index include:

Readiness across the five key pillars

• Identity: Progress is needed here, as 17% companies are in the Mature stage
• Devices: This has the highest percentage of companies in the Mature stage at 31%
• Network Security: Companies are lagging on this front with 53% of organizations in the Beginner or Formative stages
• Application Workloads: This is the pillar where companies are the least prepared, with 61% of organizations in the Beginner or Formative stages
• Data: Only 23% of organizations are ranked Mature