A recent study by CompTIA entitled “State of Cybersecurity 2024 Benelux” shows significant changes in the way organizations in the Benelux design their cybersecurity policies.

The study shows that 37 percent of companies surveyed placed more emphasis on improving processes over the past year, while 35 percent increased the priority on appropriate incident response and 35 percent also placed more emphasis on employee training.

Increasing focus on risk management

The report shows that risk management is playing a larger role in companies’ cybersecurity strategies. More than a third of organizations have intensified their approach to risk assessment, although still without using a formal framework. Nearly 40 percent of companies now implement a formal framework to manage risks and associated costs.

The source of new cybersecurity specialists is constantly evolving. In 2023, 41 percent of companies promoted employees from IT infrastructure positions to cybersecurity positions, up from 29 percent in 2022. Additionally, the proportion of companies recruiting recent graduates for their cybersecurity needs increased from 31 percent to 41 percent.

The role of AI in cybersecurity

CompTIA’s research also points to an expected increase in the use of AI in cybersecurity. Almost half of respondents see potential for AI in monitoring network traffic and detecting malware. AI is also considered a tool for automatically responding to security incidents and predicting vulnerabilities.

Finding a balance between appropriate security measures and technological advances remains a challenge. Overly strict security measures can hamper technological developments, while overly lenient policies can lead to serious security incidents that can slow this progress even further.