---
title: Half of Cybersecurity Seniors Have Changed Their Defense Strategies Due to COVID-19
description: More than 42% of CISOs, senior cybersecurity executives and industry decision-makers from the US, Europe, Asia and MENA said the pandemic has changed their cybersecurity priorities.
image: https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/CEO.jpg
---

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 By [**Filip Truta**](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/author/filip-truta) / Dec 21, 2020

# Half of Cybersecurity Seniors Have Changed Their Defense Strategies Due to COVID-19

Share this [![Share on email](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/2021/07/blog/email-color.png)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/half-of-cybersecurity-seniors-have-changed-their-defense-strategies-due-to-covid-19&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email%20&body=Check%20out%20https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/half-of-cybersecurity-seniors-have-changed-their-defense-strategies-due-to-covid-19&utm_medium=social&utm_source=email) [![Share on twitter](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/2021/07/blog/twitter-color.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/half-of-cybersecurity-seniors-have-changed-their-defense-strategies-due-to-covid-19&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&url=https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/half-of-cybersecurity-seniors-have-changed-their-defense-strategies-due-to-covid-19&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&source=tweetbutton&text=) [![Share on linkedin](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/2021/07/blog/linkedin-color.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/half-of-cybersecurity-seniors-have-changed-their-defense-strategies-due-to-covid-19&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin) [![Share on facebook](https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/hubfs/2021/07/blog/facebook-color.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://businessinsights.bitdefender.com/half-of-cybersecurity-seniors-have-changed-their-defense-strategies-due-to-covid-19&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook)

- 23% admitted experiencing a remote attack or disruption since the beginning of the pandemic
- The greatest perceived threats are malware and insider threats
- 29% of security seniors said they have invested in new tools but still feel inadequately protected

More than 42% of CISOs, senior cybersecurity executives and industry decision-makers from the US, Europe, Asia and MENA said the pandemic has changed their cybersecurity priorities.

Respondents in Fudo’s [survey](https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdownload.fudosecurity.com%2FCOVID-19-IMPACT-ON-SECURE-REMOTE-ACCESS-US.pdf&esheet=52345050&newsitemid=20201209005108&lan=en-US&anchor=COVID-19+Impact+on+Secure+Remote+Access+survey&index=1&md5=e427d3f68a8dff7a2e274cf957034415) reported that more than 77% of their employees have been working remotely this year and they expect this to continue and not ask employees to return to the office at all.

More than 80% of organizations are relying on multi-factor authentication and SSL VPNs for secure remote access. However, 23% of respondents admitted experiencing a remote attack or disruption since the beginning of the COVID period in March 2020.

The greatest perceived threats are malware (29%), misuse by staff (26%) and threats related to vendors and other third parties (22%). 29% of security seniors said they have invested in new tools but still feel inadequately protected.

Bitdefender **[GravityZone Elite](https://www.bitdefender.com/business/enterprise-products/elite-security.html)** promises to eliminate IT security hurdles via an integrated endpoint protection, risk management, and attack forensics platform, enhanced with user behavior risk analytics. IT reps can leverage integrated Risk Management and Analytics to continuously assess, prioritize and address misconfigurations and vulnerabilities, including human-triggered ones. **[Managed Detection and Response (MDR)](https://www.bitdefender.com/business/enterprise-products/managed-detection-response-service.html)** services compensate for these new challenges and help organizations face these new threats, without taxing their security budgets.

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