Information security is an enabler for new opportunities, says Vodafone cyber security report

A new report has revealed that 86% of high-growth companies believe that new business opportunities are enabled by having strong cyber security.

Vodafone's Cyber Security: The Innovation Enabler report has identified that companies understand just how important cyber security is, with 87% of 1,434 respondents anticipating an increase in their security budget over the next three years.

High-profile cyber attacks - such as the Petya ransomware that shut down most of Ukraine and cost Reckitt Benckiser $135mn - have reaffirmed the belief that a secure digital network can help drive business and grow trust.

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This is shown by the statistic that 78% of business believe cyber security to be increasingly essential and of high strategic importance.

However, businesses are unsure how to go about securing their digital safety - 41% revealed that they are unsure who could help deal with security challenges, whilst this is a more acute problem for smaller firms who do not have in-house capabilities.

Losing critical data, network breaches and reputational damage are the top three fears and this would have been amplified by the situation that Equifax currently finds itself in after a widespread data breach, with stock prices tumbling by 33%.

A growing number of cloud and IoT adopters see cyber security as a means of establishing new opportunities and a source of financial benefits, as opposed to a barrier to progress.