Dive Brief:

• Despite spending $75 billion to protect themselves from hacking, private companies globally are no safer today than they were in the past, according to CSO Online.
• In many cases, hackers are expanding their skills faster than companies can figure out how to stop them.  
• Huge ROI on successful exploits is motivation to keep hackers innovating around the clock.

Dive Insight:

The amount companies spend to protect their systems and data is expected to grow approximately 7% annually, according to Gartner. But even then, companies won’t be truly “safe.”

“Companies are worse off by 100% [with cybersecurity] compared to 10 years ago because the world is more complicated now,” said Gartner analyst Avivah Litan. “We are safer in a way, but criminals -- the advanced ones-- can still get through. Companies have definitely raised the cybersecurity bar, but criminals can keep going higher than the bar. It’s a cat and mouse game, and when you put in a trap, they find a new technique.”

Human error, especially when it comes to phishing, is a huge risk factor, according to Gartner. Another risk are companies that don’t patch software quickly enough. Research shows companies often fall six months behind in installing security updates.

“For companies, it’s a matter of paying attention,” Litan said. “Companies don’t spend enough time and money on the problem. They don’t think they need to. It’s a matter of priorities.”