South Africa businesses up security spending but still don’t feel secure

While more than half (51%) of South African businesses have upped their investment in cybersecurity, it’s evident that budgets are not keeping up with needs, especially given the new threats introduced by remote work, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by consultancy conducted by World Wide Worx, in partnership with Dell Technologies and Intel, also revealed that nearly three-quarters of South Africa’s top 100 corporates are investing more in cybersecurity than the industry average. And yet, an almost equal proportion of businesses don’t feel fully that their current cybersecurity strategy gives them the protection they need. 

It may seem like a good thing that corporates are exceeding their cybersecurity budgets, but this may actually be a sign of the fact that their budgets were too low to begin with, according to Arthur Goldstuck, World Wide Worx CEO and the principal analyst on the research project.

Arthur Goldstuck

“In the game of cybercrime cat and mouse, one could argue that there is no such thing as being over-resourced,” Goldstuck said. “However, under-resourcing not only exposes companies to risk, but also poses an existential threat. A major breach can bring down a company. Budgets must catch up to the significance of the threat.”

Despite the mismatch between spend and need, IT decision makers understand that cybersecurity is a critical component of running a modern business, says Goldstuck, noting that 99% of businesses polled by the study believe that it is an important aspect of the business’ broader strategy.