Thus, 89.1% of all security specialists that took part in the survey, see their organisations ill-equipped to manage and respond to cyber risks and threats, or major security breach announcements and settlements, including Equifax, Yahoo and Anthem.

The survey also found 67% of cybersecurity leaders do not have sufficient staff to handle the daily barrage of cyber alerts they receive; 60% expect digital threats to grow as their organisations increase online engagement with customers and currently, 37% of companies have engaged a managed security services provider (MSSP) to help monitor and manage cyber threats.

Moreover, the top three digital threats information security leaders fear are phishing and malware attacks on employees and customers; brand impersonation, abuse, reputational damage; and information breaches.

1,691 US and UK information security leaders across multiple verticals, including enterprise, consulting, government and education, provided insights into their cyber risk concerns and plans for 2018.