Only 14 percent of organisations in New Zealand have a high level of readiness for the cybersecurity risks of a world in which hybrid work situations are prevalent, according to new research.
In the study 69 percent of Kiwi respondents also said they had suffered a cybersecurity incident in the last 12 months, with those costing 53 percent of the organisations affected at least NZ$800,000.
Cisco's first-ever Cybersecurity Readiness Index surveyed 6700 business leaders in 27 countries, including Aotearoa, between August and September 2022.
The report measures the readiness of companies to maintain cybersecurity resilience against modern threats, classifying them into four stages of increasing readiness: Beginner (overall score of less than 10), Formative (score of between 11 - 44), Progressive (score of between 45 - 75) and Mature (score of 76 and higher).
Fourteen percent of New Zealand organisations were classified as Mature, versus 15 percent of the global total. Seventeen percent of organisations in Aotearoa were classified as Progressive, 56 as formative and 13 as Beginner.
The study was conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen a boom in people working from home or on the go, which presents many new cybersecurity concerns.
"The move to a hybrid world has fundamentally changed the landscape for companies and created even greater cybersecurity complexity," said Cisco's executive vice president and general manager of security and collaboration, Jeetu Patel.
"Organisations must stop approaching defence with a mix of point tools and instead consider integrated platforms to achieve security resilience while reducing complexity. Only then will businesses be able to close the cybersecurity readiness gap."
The report was released as it was revealed by the Department of Internal Affairs that more than 1300 New Zealanders have had their passport details stolen in a massive hack on money lender Latitude Financial.
Cisco said it hopes its research is a "wake-up call for senior business leaders".
