Cybernews Business Digital Index reveals major shortcomings in corporate customer data security

Despite the growing threat of cyberattacks, many companies continue to fall short in strengthening their security measures. The Cybernews Business Digital Index reveals that 63% of analyzed companies worldwide score D or worse for their cybersecurity efforts.

To determine the cyber health of companies worldwide, Cybernews has developed the Business Digital Index, which grades businesses based on their online security measures, using available data from external sources.

The index serves a dual purpose: it enables users to verify if the companies they rely on have solid digital security measures. At the same time, businesses can assess their own security practices and receive actionable insights on how to enhance their digital security posture and respond to threats faster.

Firms should up their security game

The reality is that organizations of all sizes are constantly under threat from cyberattacks. Therefore, every company should assume that it will likely face a cyberattack at some point and recognize that it has a responsibility not only to protect itself but also safeguard its customers' data.

Nevertheless, according to The Business Digital Index, 63% of companies analyzed received a security rating of D or worse, with 40% falling into the F category. Only 11% of companies earned an A rating for their security measures.

The healthcare industry is particularly vulnerable, with 22% of the scored companies receiving a D rating and almost half (48%) an F rating. Only 5% of the analyzed companies in this sector achieved an A grade. Overall, the healthcare sector received an average security score of 69—the lowest of the analyzed sectors.

In contrast, businesses offering crypto wallets fared better, with 21% earning an A grade for their security and achieving an average score of 78. Yet, 43% of companies in this sector were also rated D or worse.

A look at individual regions shows that companies in Asia have some of the poorest cyber health, with an average security score of 68—6% below the global average. In contrast, companies in the Middle East achieved the highest rating of 77 among the regions analyzed, followed closely by Europe and Oceania, both with an average rating of 76.

Most common security issues

The Business Digital Index shows that the most common security issue is related to Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) configuration, affecting 99% of organizations. SSL is a technology that encrypts data transmitted between a web server and a browser to ensure secure communications.

If a company has issues with its SSL setup, it can expose sensitive data to interception, making its systems vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks and compromising user trust and data security.

An astonishing 99% of companies have website security issues, 86% struggle with phishing and malware-related issues, and 84% have network security problems. More than half (54%) have issues with email security.

In addition, around 35% of companies have high-risk vulnerabilities and have been affected by recent data breaches, 49% have employees reusing compromised passwords, and 34% have had corporate credentials stolen.

All of these weaknesses can open up companies to data breaches, which often have far-reaching consequences, such as damage to a company's reputation, financial losses, legal penalties, and loss of customer trust.

However, issues like employees reusing compromised passwords are easily solvable yet they create significant vulnerabilities, making it especially easy for attackers to exploit security gaps and gain unauthorized access.

How the index works

To provide assessment of companies' cybersecurity health, the Business Digital Index pulls data from a variety of reputable sources, such as IoT search engines, IP or domain reputation databases, and custom security scans.

It allows evaluating risks in seven key areas: software updates, web security, email protection, system reputation, SSL setup, system hosting, and data breach history. By looking into different risk factors and using smart analysis, the Business Digital Index offers insights into how secure an organization may be.

Currently, the index provides ratings for more than 1,000 companies worldwide, particularly in the financial and healthcare sectors, with plans to expand to more companies, industries, and regions in the near future.