11:11 Systems has published a report examining the complexity, challenges, and opportunities of the cybersecurity landscape. The report 11:11 CYBER TRENDS REPORT 2025 (Registration Required) is based on a survey of over 800 leaders at organisations with at least 1,000 employees from North America – 33%, EMEA – 45% (UK, 23%, Netherlands 13%, and France, 12%), and APAC – 22%.
The survey found that 38% of IT leaders believe that their organisations are overly confident about their ability to recover from a cybersecurity incident. 43% are somewhat overconfident but taking steps to address the issue. The question asked in the survey around this might have been slightly confusing to respondents, though.
The report details the frequency of attacks and the monetary risk that organisations have. It then delves into how organisations are trying to protect themselves and finally examines the technologies they are adopting.
Despite the high risk, organisations are missing out on external resources that help with cyber incident recovery. 24% are choosing to manage cybersecurity in-house completely, and 7% have no formal plan. The majority, 53% have adopted a hybrid approach, with only 16% fully outsources.
It is unclear whether those fully outsourced are smaller organisations or perhaps have an outsourced IT function. A qualitative element might have added some depth to this. That 8% have no plan at all is a concern, and one wants to ask why not?
AI is introducing added complexity to the landscape. AI-driven attacks are the top concern for IT cybersecurity leaders. There are also concerns about the internal use of AI, with 74% believing that the internal deployment of AI will increase vulnerability.
The belief is becoming a reality, with 45% of respondents experiencing AI-driven phishing attacks and 65% believing that the use of AI by bad actors is increasing the risk.
What is in the report
The seventeen-page report is divided into four sections, detailing each of the key findings. Before concluding, the authors provide details on how 11:11 Systems, with the help of vendors such as Cohesity, Veeam, and HPE, can assist organisations with their Cyber Recovery programs.
Each section comprises data points and data visualisations from the survey relating to each of the key findings. The section contains commentary, and three sections provide some detailed action items that business leaders should consider to improve their recovery stance. These are the key takeaways from the report, offering some valuable insights.
While for some this is common sense, for those without a plan, the 8 points within a cyber resilience solution checklist are a useful guide to determine what is required.
1. Cyberattacks are increasingly ubiquitous and expensive
The first key section looks at the scope of cyber attacks. Unfortunately, there is no trend analysis from previous years. It highlights that 52% of respondents believe cyberattacks cost businesses more than $250,000 per hour of downtime. However, it did not ask how long each incident lasted, though 57% have had more than a single attack. 48% said the attacks cost between $100,000 and $250,000.
It appears that no respondent saw the cost as under that figure. Losses can include business disruption, salaries, legal fees, one-off consulting fees and fines. Whether these costs have actually been incurred is difficult to say, and few companies will willingly share the actual cost of disruption.
2. Complexity continues to grow, and AI is already having a significant impact on the cybersecurity landscape
Respondents were asked about the biggest challenge facing organisations in terms of incident recovery. 46% said that the planning complexity is the biggest issue. In the UK, this fell to 42%. The second highest was a lack of budget (21%). The authors present five reasons why a clean room recovery service can aid in incident response. It is a facility that 11:11 can offer.
The report also offers four steps to manage the growing AI-powered cyber risks.
- Use AI-enhanced cybersecurity tools
- Train employees regularly
- Develop an Incident Response Plan (IRP)
- Collaborate with experts and continuously monitor risks
Each is expanded upon and explained in further detail, providing insight into the reasons that make these steps worthwhile and what leaders should consider.
3. Businesses take surprisingly varied approaches to cyber resilience strategies
The report found that organisations have a varied approach to cyber incident recovery in terms of third-party support. It also asked respondent to share what they thought would most improve their stance. The top actions that would improve a company’s cyber recovery preparedness were:
- Better staff training and awareness – 23%
- Better integration – 22%
- Greater Investment – 21%
However, the survey only appears to have asked for a single response; it would have been interesting to see what responses were common across all priorities, ideally with a stacked bar chart.
The respondents agreed on the importance of disaster recovery tests and cyber recovery tests. 70% of organisations test their cyber incident recovery plans annually. Importantly, 9% plan to invest in cyber incident recovery within the next twelve months, although the nature of that investment was unclear.
Cyber incident recovery solutions play a critical role in securing modern businesses
Cyber Incident recovery solutions can play a key part in combating/recovering from cybercrime. The respondents were asked about six key benefits these solutions can offer. Four were above 50%:
- Improved data security and protection – 65%
- 24x7x365 monitoring and support – 59%
- Faster recovery times – 58%
- Regular testing and validation of cyber incident recovery plans – 53%
When respondents are considering cyber recovery solutions, two key elements stand out as important. 90% thought support for public cloud workloads and applications is important. Furthermore, 96% felt that application-level recovery is also important.
Sean Tilley, Senior Director of Sales at 11:11 Systems, commented: “This data confirms what we see every day, IT leaders are under immense pressure to navigate increasingly complex cyber threats and recovery landscapes.
“While it is positive to see that the majority are investing in cyber incident recovery, without the involvement of a specialist, these investments may not achieve the desired results. At 11:11 Systems, we’re committed to simplifying cyber resilience through integrated, expert-led solutions that empower businesses to recover with confidence.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Across Europe, and presumably in the US and APAC organisations, there is still a need to do more to counter the threat of cybercrime. With AI added to the mix, even if poorly implemented, it creates risk, and in the hands of cybercriminals, it increases these risks. Cybersecurity is an area where organisations should no longer develop their own strategy.
Engaging with and partnering with experts, such as 11:11 Systems, should help the organisation de-risk its operations. With cybersecurity a topic for every board, independent directors are likely to want assurance that the IT Teams are on top of the risks and supported with the knowledge and expertise of third-party firms that focus on this area.
In the same way that firms no longer consider building their own ERP solution, they need to consider that cybersecurity is an increasingly critical function that they cannot support solely internally.
