Cisco Report: Top Transportation Threats: Security Professional Shortage, APTs and Mobile

Cybersecurity threats are escalating and becoming increasingly complex for transportation organizations as they transition to modern and more connected technology infrastructures. To explore these threats and their implications, Cisco recently released its 2017 Midyear Cybersecurity Report, which observes eight vertical industries, including transportation. The transportation section’s findings are based on 180 responses from chief information security officers and security operations professionals in the industry, who participated in the Cisco 2017 Security Capabilities Benchmark Study (part of the Cisco 2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report).

Key findings from the report include:

• Top Transportation Threats are Advanced persistent threats (APTs) and the increased use of mobile devices: More than a third of transportation security professionals said that APTs and the proliferation of BYOD and smart devices were high security risks to their organizations. Fifty-nine percent of transportation security professionals said that cloud infrastructure and mobile devices are among the most challenging to defend against attacks.
• Security Talent Shortage: More than half of transportation security teams reported having fewer than 30 employees dedicated to security. And, 29 percent said the lack of trained personnel is a major obstacle to adopting advanced technologies and processes.
• Breaches Are Frequent; Processes Are Flawed: Nearly half of transportation security professionals have already dealt with public scrutiny due to a data breach. In fact, 35 percent said they see thousands of daily threat alerts, of which only 44 percent are investigated.
• Outsourcing is on the Rise: Connected transportation teams are learning from past mistakes and finding new ways to better secure their networks. By midyear, nearly 50 percent of organizations outsource some or all their security tasks to off-set a lack of internal expertise.