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While the importance of information security increases daily in the age of big data and artificial intelligence, it has been revealed that cyber security leaders see traditional devices among the biggest risk channels. The research conducted with Turkey's leading IT officials and information security leaders showed that four out of 5 CIOs and CISOs identified USB channels as the biggest risk.

While the age of artificial intelligence and big data has improved the tools of cybercrime, it has also brought about a change in the cyber threat environment. It has been observed that data leaks, which have become a strategic asset for companies, continue to be a source of concern for cybersecurity experts. SearchInform, which develops global risk management solutions, and its distributor in Turkey, Nexta Çözüm, researched how the information security leaders of Turkey's leading 100 companies ensure protection against data leaks and whether they plan to increase their data security. The research revealed that 4 out of 5 CIOs and CISOs consider USB devices and external drives the riskiest source of data leaks.

External devices are still the biggest source of risk

Within the scope of the research, information security managers of Turkey's leading companies were asked which channel they considered most risky in terms of data leakage. 80% of executives said that devices connected externally to computers and networks, such as USB and disk drives, are the biggest source of risk. In addition, the research revealed that nearly 60% of the leaders who could select more than one option stated that applications such as Teams, Skype, Zoom, and WhatsApp are risky regarding data leaks and cyber security breaches. The third biggest source of risk was e-mail.

Sharing her evaluations, SearchInform Turkey Regional Manager Elena Varol said, “The research results reveal that traditional channels are still among the most insecure channels. Employees often send emails to the wrong recipients or use messengers to share potentially confidential data in violation of information security rules. Malicious individuals constantly try to infiltrate businesses' IT systems with new techniques, external devices or via e-mail. "Fortunately, modern data protection solutions (DLP | data loss prevention) can control all channels that information security authorities consider risky and can even prevent leaks that may be caused by new messaging applications that are increasingly popular, such as Telegram.”

56% of companies experienced data breaches caused by external disks

Within the scope of the research conducted jointly by global risk management solutions developer SearchInform and Nexta Çözüm, CIOs and CISOs were also asked about the data breach cases they experienced. According to the responses, in 56% of all cases, internal actors attempted to exfiltrate data through external devices. On the other hand, e-mail was used in 21% of data leak attempts. Pointing out that there is a lack of special-purpose protective software despite the increasing capabilities of advanced data loss prevention solutions, Elena Varol said, “Many companies fail to protect the personal data of their customers and employees, as well as trade secrets. This means that companies are inadequate in complying with the Personal Data Protection Law. "Undoubtedly, companies of all sizes need to invest in information security in general”.

4 out of 5 companies will not increase their information security budget

Pointing out that despite the importance of the need for investment in information security, only 20% of organisations expect an increase in the budget for information security next year, Elena Varol said, “The first business unit that many organisations planning budget cuts think about is information security. "However, considering the current information security environment and the increase in information security risks faced by organisations around the world, the budget allocated to increase corporate data security needs to be carefully planned.”

Elena Varol, the Regional Manager of SearchInform Turkey, concluded her assessments with the following statement, “In this age where information has become a strategic asset, especially SMEs should prefer multifunctional modern solutions that are offered and managed through a service model, rather than purchasing individual protective software, which is resource-intensive. This allows for more efficient use of resources and higher-level protection. As SearchInfrom, with over a decade of focus on current cybersecurity threats, we protect businesses and government institutions from data theft, harmful human behaviours, compliance violations, and inadequate audits. More than 4,000 companies trust SearchInform for comprehensive risk management solutions in an evolving risk environment."