The data collected in the report revealed information about the trends and challenges associated with automating systems. 

The State of Cyber Security Automation Adoption in 2021 report comes from ThreatQuotient and highlights the importance UK businesses are placing on automating their IT security systems. 

Five key markets were surveyed: Central Government, Defence, Critical National Infrastructure – Energy and Utilities, Retail and Financial Services. 

The research contains data from 250 senior cybersecurity professionals at UK companies that employ 2,000+ people from a range of industries. 

Hybrid working, which has risen in popularity as a consequence of the pandemic, means workforces are redistributed and the threat surface has been expanded. 

Organisations must find ways to stay secure, and automating their systems proactively mitigates escalating cyber threats, while allowing employees to work outside of the office. 

The report reveals that automating processes is not without its challenges, with only 8% of those surveyed describing they had not experienced any problems during the process. 

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One of the biggest problems preventing companies from applying security automation is a lack of skills, with 45% of respondents citing this as an issue. 

Another top reason was a lack of technology within the company (43%), suggesting that more investments need to be made in order for companies to achieve automated security solutions. 

Research suggests that alongside budgets, skills and resources, trust within the organisations was another area that needed improvement. 

Anthony Perridge, the International Vice President for ThreatQuotient, has said, “There are several barriers preventing organisations from maximising the benefit of automation.

“At ThreatQuotient, we know that data driven automation can enable security operations teams to reliably trust the data and be confident in their decisions.

“For many security professionals this data will be ground-breaking as they look to automate more use cases.”

Join the Conversation: Digital Transformation 2021 Summit

The role of digital leaders in driving positive transformation will be a key theme at the upcoming Digital Transformation Summit on 28th October.

Now in its sixth year, the Summit has established itself as Scotland’s largest annual conference focussed on digitalisation and organisational change.

For more information on how to register a free place visit: https://www.digifutures.co.uk/