Network engineers and CIOs agree that cybersecurity issues represent the biggest risk for organizations that fail to put networks at the heart of digital-transformation plans. According to research commissioned by Opengear, a Digi International company, 53% of network engineers and 52% of CIOs polled in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia rank cybersecurity among the list of their biggest risks.

The concerns are fuelled by an escalating number cyberattacks. In fact, 61% of CIOs report an increase in cybersecurity attacks/breaches from 2020-21 compared to the preceding two years. For digital transformation of networking, 70% of network engineers say security is the most important focus area, and 31% say network security is their biggest networking priority.

CIOs also understand the importance of the issues. More than half (51%) of network engineers say their CIOs have consulted them on investments to deliver digital transformation plans, the highest priority in the survey.

What’s more, 41% of CIOs rank cybersecurity among their organization’s most important investment priorities over the next year, with 35% stating it is among the biggest over the next five years. In both cases, cybersecurity ranks higher than any other factor.

“Through the pandemic, we have seen the importance of cybersecurity skyrocket for businesses as employees switch to working remotely and cyber-criminals ramp up their activity,” said Gary Marks, President of Opengear.

“Forward-thinking businesses understand these challenges and the importance of investing more in security and ensuring it is woven more closely into the fabric of their networks and digital transformation efforts.”