BYOD, virtualization, and the increasing complexity of threats
create the greatest impact on today’s enterprise organizations
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
F5
Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV)
today announced the findings of its 2013 RSA Security Trends Survey,
which revealed that organizations are struggling to keep pace with the
changing face of security. Respondents were RSA attendees with IT
responsibilities over planning, management, oversight, or implementation
of security. The results show that security trends such as
virtualization (73%), BYOD (66%) and the complexity of attack types
(72%) have the greatest impact on securing today’s organizations. Nearly
half of respondents admit that traditional safeguards are less than
adequate in protecting against threats related to these trends, with
roughly one-third of respondents reporting that their security readiness
is inadequate.
Key Findings
Security is changing, from the type of threats to those driving the
threats.
When asked what security trends have the greatest impact on an
organization’s ability to achieve the level of security it desires,
respondents answered:
-
Virtualization (73%)
-
The increasing complexity of threats (ex: Distributed Denial of
Service attacks) (72%)
-
BYOD (use of employee-owned devices such as smartphones for business
use) (66%)
-
The change in the bad guys (from hackers to espionage and political
motivation) (62%)
-
The shift from data center focused infrastructure to cloud-based
infrastructure (61%)
-
The shift from traditional client-server applications to web-based
applications (60%)
BYOD is seen as critical in an organization’s ability to achieve the
level of security it desires, yet a sizeable number of organizations are
not taking the appropriate steps to address it.
-
Most (75%) see BYOD as being prevalent in their organization.
-
Furthermore, two-thirds (66%) see BYOD as having a somewhat to
extremely high impact on security.
-
Despite this, one-third (35%) say they are not prepared to provide
adequate security to protect against threats associated with BYOD.
Organizations are unprepared to properly address the shift to
web-based applications and cloud-based infrastructure.
-
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents see the shift to web-based
applications as a trend affecting security, yet 37% of respondents’
organizations are not providing adequate security to protect against
potential threats.
-
Sixty-six percent of respondents see the shift to cloud-based
infrastructure as a trend affecting security, yet 49% of respondents’
organizations are not providing adequate security to protect against
potential threats.
Threats are moving beyond the capability of traditional security
safeguards.
There is a wide range of IT trends making security more complex. Below
are the percentages of respondents who felt traditional safeguards were less
than adequate in protecting against threats related to a variety of
current IT trends:
-
The shift from traditional client-server applications to web-based
applications (44%)
-
The shift from data center focused infrastructure to cloud-based
infrastructure (49%)
-
BYOD (use of employee-owned devices such as smartphones for business
use) (45%)
-
Increased external threats (spam and malware) (39%)
-
The increasing complexity of threats (ex: Distributed Denial of
Service attacks) (48%)
-
The change in the bad guys (from hackers to espionage and political
motivation) (47%)
-
Increasing insider threats (49%)
“The security landscape continues to change rapidly and many
organizations are struggling to properly address evolving threats,” said
Mark Vondemkamp, VP of Product Management for Security at F5. “Companies
will do well to proactively address trends like BYOD and cloud security,
but they should also look to raise their game in terms of threat
detection and mitigation. With employee behavior, business priorities,
and infrastructure demands further expanding traditional threat vectors,
the proper tools and procedures are essential in maintaining a healthy
level of security.”
Recommendations and Best Practices
To prepare for threats posed by emerging security trends, F5 recommends
organizations have:
-
Centralized, flexible access policy controls that provide
comprehensive protection and keep users productive.
-
A DNSSEC solution that delivers security, improved performance, and
global availability.
-
A secure web application firewall and comprehensive, policy-based
approach to web application security in addressing emerging threats at
the application level.
F5 Networks 2013 RSA Security Trends Survey
The F5 Networks 2013 RSA Security Trends Survey is a result of research
conducted on the exhibit floor at last week’s RSA conference in San
Francisco. Conference attendees were asked two initial qualifying
questions to promote the validity of the survey results. More than 150
qualified respondents were then asked a total of five questions
surrounding security trends.
Additional Resources
About F5 Networks
F5 Networks (NASDAQ:
FFIV) makes the connected world run better. F5 helps organizations
meet the demands and embrace the opportunities that come with the
relentless growth of voice, data, and video traffic, mobile workers, and
applications—in the data center, the network, and the cloud. The world’s
largest businesses, service providers, government entities, and consumer
brands rely on F5’s intelligent services framework to deliver and
protect their applications and services while ensuring people stay
connected. Learn more at www.f5.com.
You can also follow @f5networks
on Twitter or visit us on Facebook
for more information about F5, its partners, and technology. For a
complete listing of F5 community sites, please visit www.f5.com/news-press-events/web-media/community.html.
F5 and DevCentral are trademarks or service marks of F5 Networks, Inc.,
in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names
herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to
future events or future financial performance that involve risks and
uncertainties. Such statements can be identified by terminology such as
"may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes,"
"estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of
such terms or comparable terms. These statements are only predictions
and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in
these statements based upon a number of factors including those
identified in the company's filings with the SEC.
F5 Networks, Inc.
Alane Moran, 206-272-6850
a.moran@f5.com
or
Connect
Marketing
Ben Jolley, 801-373-7888
benj@connectpr.com
Source: F5 Networks, Inc.