Kaspersky is sharing new insights into the cybersecurity landscape for the year ahead in three key areas: budgeting, insurance and vendor relationships. According to the research, 86% of IT decision makers surveyed in North America said their organization intends to set aside budget for cybersecurity when planning for 2022, with 85% saying their budget would increase anywhere up to 50% in the next 12 months.

Understanding that yearly planning often happens in advance, Kaspersky commissioned a survey in October 2021 targeting 600 employees based in the U.S. and Canada who are key decision makers for the cybersecurity sector within their company. By doing so, cybersecurity vendors now have insight on where companies will prioritize cybersecurity business investments in the months and year to come.

In addition to uncovering overall budgeting for cybersecurity, the survey offers insight into how much budget is allocated specifically for cyber insurance. 28% of respondents said their company annually invests anywhere from $25K-$50k per year and added that the top three criteria they would be willing to meet in order to obtain cyber insurance includes security controls (70%), compliance (52%) and education (44%).

While investing in cyber insurance is a growing proactive trend, the survey also analyzed how businesses respond when reactively dealing with a cyberattack. When it comes to who business employees hold most responsible for allowing a cyberattack to happen, vendors were the top choice (25%) with the internal IT team as a close second (23%). However, should a cyberattack occur, 41% of respondents said they would ask their cybersecurity vendor for more recommendations on what their organization could/should do to avoid future attacks. 

"As cybersecurity continues to garner more attention for the volume and complexities of attacks, it is important for vendors to have a directional understanding of how businesses plan ahead for their cybersecurity needs," said Rob Cataldo, managing director of Kaspersky North America. "Armed with this research, vendors will now be more informed when approaching potential clients and can speak more relevantly to their cybersecurity priorities in the year ahead."

For more information and to read the full report, Cybersecurity in 2022: Budgets, Insurance and Vendor Relationships, please visit Kaspersky Daily.