Network misconfigurations cost companies an average of 9% of annual revenues, according to a study released Wednesday by a network security and compliance company. The research by Titania based on a survey of 160 senior cybersecurity decision makers across a broad array of government and industrial verticals also warned that misconfigurations that leave a business vulnerable to cyberattacks could be sitting on networks for months or years because of infrequent audits of connected devices.
“Networks can change on a daily basis—typically through planned activity— resulting in configuration drift,” says Titania CEO Phil Lewis. “As firewalls, routers and switches are pivotal to the security of all networks, organizations should check all their devices regularly—ideally daily—for misconfigurations, either accidental or deliberate, that could result in critical security risks.”
“The fact that only 4% of organizations assess all their network devices by auditing their switching and routing devices, as well as their firewalls, is inherently problematic and likely the result of a lack of accurate automation capability,” he adds.
