New Study Reveals IT Pros Are Choosing Between Productivity and Security

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Mar 16, 2016) -  Despite the doom and gloom that pervades the cybersecurity industry, a new report from Barkly, an endpoint security company, reveals that the biggest issue IT teams have with current security solutions is that they slow down the system. Based on responses from 350 IT professionals in the U.S., Barkly's 2016 Cybersecurity Confidence Report indicated that while only half of respondents are confident in their current endpoint solution, 80 percent believe that effective endpoint security is possible.

Productivity vs. Security - Finding the Common Ground
When asked about the downfalls of security solutions, 41 percent of respondents said they are dissatisfied with their current solution because it slows down their system. If security products are slowing systems, and by extension lowering productivity, IT pros should consider whether or not their colleagues are taking insecure shortcuts to improve efficiency, such as using unauthorized third-party apps or connecting unsanctioned devices to the network. In addition to this system slow down, the survey revealed that the biggest issues IT teams have with current solutions are that they require too many updates (36 percent), are too expensive (33 percent) and provide no protection against zero-day attacks (33 percent).

(In)Security: IT Pros Aren't Confident
Despite increased spending on IT security, just half (50 percent) of survey respondents said they are confident in their current solution. More than half of respondents (54 percent) don't believe their organization can effectively measure security ROI, and only a quarter (25 percent) have confidence in their colleagues' cybersecurity awareness. While a majority of IT pros believe effective security is possible, the low confidence levels prove that organizations should be taking a closer look at improving their security posture.

Disconnect between the C-Suite and Front-Line IT Pros
Barkly's research draws a clear line between front-line IT pros' and the C-suites' opinions around security. Respondents indicated that they believe IT teams prioritize security higher than the C-level, with nearly two-in-five respondents stating that IT teams believe it to be an essential priority, compared to only 27 percent of C-level executives. There's also a disconnect between IT teams and the C-level when it comes to their biggest concerns -- while the C-level is more worried about insider threats, IT teams feel that careless, uninformed employees are a higher risk. When asked how they would improve security within their organizations, C-suite respondents said they would rather buy new software while front-line IT pros would prefer to educate their colleagues.

"This report proves that from the CISO to the entry-level IT pro, organizations must be better aligned when it comes to security. When there's a disconnect in priorities, level of understanding and measurement, even a seemingly strong security initiative is destined to fail," said Jack Danahy, co-founder and CTO of Barkly. "Once teams understand each other's priorities and concerns around security, they can implement the tools they really need, that will best protect their endpoints from ever-increasing, complex threats."

To download the full report, please visit: https://www.barkly.com/cybersecurity-confidence-report-2016/.

Methodology
The data was collected by research firm Research Now between January 15-20th, 2016. The survey polled 350 employed IT professionals in the U.S. 

About Barkly
Founded in 2013 by industry veterans Mike Duffy and Jack Danahy, Barkly is an endpoint security company aimed at delivering strong, fast, affordable and easy-to-use security for today's organizations. Barkly starts where anti-virus solutions stop, providing end-user devices with immunity against modern, zero-day and lesser-known attacks. Rather than relying on signature-matching, Barkly spots malware by recognizing the unique way malicious code behaves, an approach that allows it to stop new types of attacks and malware before the user's machine gets infected. To learn more, visit www.barkly.com.