Most organizations (67 per cent) are facing rising threats in their information security risk environment, but over a third (37 per cent) have no real-time insight on cyber risks necessary to combat these threats. This is one of the topline findings of EY's annual Global Information Security survey, Get Ahead of Cybercrime , which this year surveys 1,825 organizations in 60 countries.

Companies are lacking the agility, the budget and the skills to mitigate known vulnerabilities and successfully prepare for and address cybersecurity. Forty-three percent of respondents say that their organization's total information security budget will stay approximately the same in the coming 12 months despite increasing threats, which is only a marginal improvement to 2013 when 46 per cent said budgets would not change.

Over half (53 per cent) say that a lack of skilled resources is one of the main obstacles challenging their information security program and only 5 per cent of responding companies have a threat intelligence team with dedicated analysts. These figures also represent no material difference to 2013, when 50 per cent highlighted a lack of skilled resources and 4 per cent  said they had a threat intelligence team with dedicated analysts.

"Careless or unaware employees" is revealed as the number one vulnerability companies face, with 38 per cent of respondents saying it is their first priority, and "outdated information security controls or architecture" and "cloud computing use" are second and third respectively (35 and 17 per cent). "Stealing financial information," "disrupting or defacing the organization" and "stealing intellectual property or data" are the top three threats (28, 25 and 20 per cent respectively say it is their first priority).

This year's survey finds that organizations need to do a better job of anticipating attacks in an environment where it is no longer possible to prevent all cyber breaches, and where threats come from ever more resourceful and well-funded sources.

Paul van Kessel, EY's global risk leader, said:

"Organizations will only develop a risk strategy of the future if they understand how to anticipate cybercrime. Cyber-attacks have the potential to be far-reaching – not only financially, but also in terms of brand and reputation damage, the loss of competitive advantage and regulatory non-compliance. Organizations must undertake a journey from a reactive to a proactive posture, transforming themselves from easy targets for cybercriminals into more formidable adversaries.

"Too many organizations still fall short in mastering the foundational components of cybersecurity. In addition to a lack of focus at the top of the organization and a lack of well-defined procedures and practices, too many of the organizations we surveyed reveal they do not have a security operations center. This is a major cause for concern."

The report encourages organizations to embrace cybersecurity as a core competitive capability. This requires keeping the organization in a constant state of readiness, anticipating where new threats may arise and shedding the "victim" mindset of operating in a perpetual state of anxiety. To reach this state, the report recommends:

• Remaining alert to new threats: Leadership should address cyber threats/risks as a core business issue, and put in place a dynamic decision process that enables quick preventative action.
• Understanding the threat landscape: Organizations should have a comprehensive, yet targeted, awareness of the wider threat landscape and how it relates to the organization, and invest in cyber threat intelligence.
• Knowing your "crown jewels": There should be a common understanding across the organization of the assets that are of greatest value to the business, and how they can be prioritized and protected.
• Focusing on incident and crisis response: Organizations should regularly test the organization's capabilities.
• Learning and evolving: Cyber security forensics is a critical piece of the puzzle. Organizations should closely study data from incidents and attacks, maintain and explore new collaborative relationships and refresh their strategy regularly.

Ken Allan, EY's global information security leader, said:

"Beyond internal threats, organizations also need to think broadly about their business ecosystem and how relationships with third parties and vendors can impact their security posture. It's only by reaching an advanced stage of cyber security readiness that an organization can start to reap the real benefits of its cyber security investments. By putting the building blocks in place and ensuring that the program is able to adapt to change, companies can start to get ahead of cybercrime, adding capabilities before they are needed and preparing for threats before they arise."

For further information and to download the 2014 report, visit www.ey.com/GISS