In recent days, Coro Company has highlighted the struggles faced by IT personnel in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) due to the complexity of multiple tools in the security stack and increasing security demands. This pressure is causing them to potentially miss out on crucial security event alerts, thereby weakening the company’s overall security posture.
According to research conducted by various institutions with 500 network security management professionals from different industries in the United States (typically in companies with 200-2000 employees), results indicate that many SMEs and mid-sized enterprises are confronting a rising tide of complex cybersecurity threats. Furthermore, a significant number of these companies lack the necessary security defense resources and expertise.
Typically, network security responsibilities in SMEs are handled by the company’s IT personnel. However, they may be grappling with the challenges posed by the complexity of security plans and the pressure of responsibilities, including managing intricate security systems and network architectures, continuous monitoring and updating of security strategies, and addressing increasingly sophisticated security threats.
The survey results reveal that 73% of security professionals in SMEs have at some point missed, ignored, or failed to act upon vital security alerts, with manpower shortage and time constraints cited as the two primary reasons for this oversight.
Moreover, respondents reported spending a considerable amount of time on tasks such as monitoring security platforms, managing and updating endpoint devices and agents, vulnerability management or patching, and installing, configuring, and integrating new security tools. Among them, 52% of respondents indicated that monitoring security platforms was the most time-consuming task, followed by vulnerability patching.
The investigation found that SMEs are simultaneously using an excessive number of network security tools. Survey participants mentioned that on average, they utilize 11.55 tools in their security stack, spending an average of 4 hours and 43 minutes each day managing their network security tools.
Interestingly, respondents noted that the introduction of a new network security tool into internal systems requires significant resources and time, with a new network security tool taking an average of 4.22 months to become fully operational (installation, configuration, staff training, and integration with existing security stack all consuming substantial time).
The complexities faced by security professionals and the excessive demands placed on already limited resources are prompting SMEs and mid-sized enterprises to consolidate their network security tools. 85% of respondents expressed a desire to integrate their tools within the next 12 months to swiftly improve the internal security posture.
Coro Company’s CEO, Guy Moskowitz, emphasized that SMEs are being overwhelmed by the plethora of alerts generated by enterprise security tools, which often do not align with the actual security needs of the company, thus trapping many enterprises in a cybersecurity “purgatory.”
Moskowitz underscored the immense challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in managing security complexities due to manpower constraints. Balancing budget restrictions, limited resources, and the need for improved security coverage seems like an impossible task. Hence, the most effective way for SMEs to break free from cybersecurity dilemmas is to adopt a single platform, hoping to reduce the workload of security personnel through a simple control panel and an endpoint agent.
Source: [Help Net Security](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2024/04/25/73-of-sme-security-pros-missed-or-ignored-critical-alerts/)