Thycotic, in conjunction with Sapio Research, conducted a survey in August 2020 that gathered responses from 908 Senior IT security decision-makers (102 in Australia) working within organizations of 500+ employees in these countries: US (22% of responses), UK (11%), Germany (11%), Australia (11%), New Zealand (11%), France (11%), Spain (11%), Malaysia (6%) and Singapore (5%). Of those, 31% claimed to be CEO/CSO/CISO/CIO, 37% head of IT or IT director and the remaining 32% were IT manager or security manager.

The research shows boardroom investments in cyber security are most commonly the result of an incident or fears of compliance audit failure. Because of this, the research found two thirds, or 66% of Australian respondents (58% globally) say their organisations plan to add more towards security budgets in the next 12 months.

There are positive signs that boards are stepping up with investment. Around 88% of Australian respondents (77% globally) have received boardroom investment for new security projects, either in response to a cyber incident at 59% of organisations (49% globally) or through fear of audit failure at 29% (28% globally).

Cyber threats have risen due to the work-from-home nature of the response to the COVID-19 crisis, and CISOs report that boards are listening and stepping up with increased budgets for cyber security, with the overwhelming majority in Australia, or 94% (91% globally) agreeing that the board adequately supports them with investment. Two thirds of Australian respondents (versus 58% globally) believe that in the next financial year they will have more security budget because of COVID-19.

However, CISOs have their work cut out to gain the support of boards. Around two fifths, or 41% of Australian participants' proposed investments (37% globally) were turned down because the threat was perceived as low risk. Around two in five, or 39% (37% globally) were turned down because the projects had a lack of demonstrable ROI. And 38% of Australian respondents (33% globally) believe senior management does not comprehend the scale of threats when making cyber security investment decisions, thus perpetuating the problem that many IT security officers have in "selling" to the board.

"Our study clearly shows that before CISOs can pursue technology innovation they must first educate their stakeholders about the value of cyber security," said James Legg, chief executive at Thycotic. "Securing boardroom investment requires them to strike a delicate balance between innovation and compliance."

CISOs' own approaches to buying decisions are forward looking as they try to keep up with industry developments and their sector peers. A large majority, or 74% of Australian respondents (75% globally) say they want to try out innovative new tools. However, in practice, many are guided by their industry peers, with two in five, or 40% (46% globally) benchmarking their buying decisions against other companies in their sector. This may lead CISOs to err on the side of proven, known technology rather than trying something new.

"While boards are definitely listening and stepping up with increased budget for cyber security, they tend to view any investment as a cost rather than adding business value," said Terence Jackson, CISO at Thycotic. "There are some encouraging signs, particularly in APAC where ROI is a leading factor in security investment decisions.

"However, there is still some way to go," he continued. "The fact that boards mainly approve investments after a security incident, or through fear of regulatory penalties for non-compliance, shows that cyber security investment decisions are more about insurance than about any desire to lead the field which, in the long run, limits the industry's ability to keep pace with the cyber criminals."