67% of UK-based businesses feel cyber security worries prevent new technology adoption

Over two-thirds (67%) of British companies feel that cyber security concerns prevent them from adopting new technology to grow their business faster. That’s according to a new report from EY based on a survey of 175 C-Suite executives at UK-based organisations. Cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) are the two technologies perceived to pose the greatest cyber security risks.

Mike Maddison, EMEIA cyber security advisory leader at EY, observed: “There’s pressure for companies to compete in the technology arms race, but cyber security fears are sometimes thwarting adoption in important areas such as cloud computing, blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and the IoT. This is shown in the concerns of our survey respondents, as 42% of technology and business leaders feel that they’re lagging behind their competitors in the adoption of new technology.”

Maddison continued: “In recent years, the rate and pace of technological advances, regulatory change, cyber attacks and data breaches have moved cyber security rapidly up the corporate agenda. Protection and prevention are still paramount yet, to stay ahead of these evolving trends, organisations need to start thinking differently about cyber security. Business leaders must make the leap from seeing cyber security as only a protective measure to it also being a strategic value driver.”

Further, 83% of the surveyed firms feel there’s industry pressure to display good levels of cyber security. More than three-quarters (76%) believe that having a ‘cyber secure’ brand is now important for helping to build competitive commercial advantage.

The report finds that, across many organisations, the views of Chief Information Officers and those of other Board members around cyber security are not yet aligned. Business leaders such as the CEO, the CFO and the COO tend to be less confident about their organisation’s cyber security posture than those with direct responsibility for IT and technology such as the CIO and Chief Information Security Officer.

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