According to Gartner, many of the security concerns that MSEs face are similar to those that larger enterprises face. The rising usage of cloud applications, open-source code, the internet of things (IoT), and cyber-physical systems, for example, has increased attack surfaces. As a result of this, MSE administrators will have to secure a more complicated organizational environment.
The major technology skill gap among MSE CIOs’ organizations is security. In fact, a significant number of MSEs lack cybersecurity professionals. According to Gartner data, there aren’t any dedicated security resources until the IT department has at least 21 employees.
“The security industry is in the middle of a years-long transition from trust but verify to never trust, always verify as zero trust architectures become more pervasive. The only thing harder than defending yourself against a cyberattack is telling your executives and your partners why you didn’t do enough to protect yourself,” said Paul Furtado, Gartner’s vice president of midsize enterprise security.
According to Gartner, organizations should look into how they can apply zero trust in a way that benefits them and their business, as well as develop a proactive incident response plan. Furtado predicts in 2022 that midsize businesses will face multiple security challenges such as malware injections and data breaches.
Furtado said, “It’s not going to get better, it is going to get worse. We as practitioners need to up our game because the bad actors are upping their game.”