Survey Reveals Two-Thirds of Tech Decision-Makers in Ireland Feel Vulnerable to Data Breaches Due to Remote Working

Equinix, Inc.,  the world’s digital infrastructure company, has unveiled new findings from a survey, which found that two-thirds of IT decision-makers in Ireland feel more susceptible to data breaches due to the IT strain associated with pandemic-driven remote working.

This independent study surveyed 127 senior IT decision-makers in Ireland, illustrating the prevailing sentiments pertaining to the security challenges linked to remote working for businesses nationwide.

The survey found that on average, organisations have invested an additional €556,916 in their IT infrastructure in order to maintain secure and efficient operations during the pandemic. The majority (71%) of IT professionals in Ireland reported their organisation has had to increase IT security due to the rapid shift towards remote working, precipitated by the pandemic.

The findings also show how a heightened sense of trepidation around data security is informing the decision making of IT leaders, with almost half (48%) of companies surveyed in Ireland planning to invest more in data security in the future, as a result of COVID-19.

According to the Global Interconnection Index (GXI) Volume 4—a market study published by Equinix in October—distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks have grown by more than 270% year-over-year, while 30% of companies are being challenged by thousands of insecure devices connecting daily and without IT oversight.

As a means of enabling businesses to privately, securely, and seamlessly interconnect with a high concentration of the world’s major cloud providers, as well as with their own distributed infrastructure, Equinix Fabric™ helps enterprises deploy a bespoke, cloud-first strategy tailored to their evolving business requirements.

Additional findings from the survey highlight that:

• More than a quarter (27%) of respondents are worried that their company or employees have breached GDPR regulations as a result of remote working arrangements.
• 52% of enterprises in Ireland are planning to invest more in cloud and data centre services to support remote working.
• Almost two-thirds (63%) of those surveyed report that COVID-19 has triggered greater executive-level awareness of, and engagement with, IT strategies.

Equinix’s survey demonstrates how the central role of digital technology in helping businesses to survive and thrive throughout COVID-19 has underlined the strategic importance of the IT department. And according to analysis from David Cappuccio, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner, and Henrique Cecci, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner: “By 2025, 85% of infrastructure strategies will integrate on-premises, colocation, cloud, and edge delivery options, compared with 20% in 2020”.

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Source: Irish Tech News – Abridged version – Image: Shutterstock