Eight out of ten firms are happy with their level of security to thwart increasing cyber threats, according to a survey carried out by CompTIA.

The latest CompTIA’s 11th Annual Information Security Trends study revealed that despite organisations being confident in their eagerness to vie with security threats, they may not be ready for risks associated to new technology models and ever more sophisticated threats.

CompTIA technology analysis director Seth Robinson said that the use of new technologies necessitates a change in firms’ approach to security.

"It’s clear why companies view security as a top priority; but what’s less clear is whether they are fully aware of which actions to take to build an appropriate security posture for a new era of IT," Robinson said.

Concerns for a range of threats have not yet changed from past years, too, as the majority firms still deem hacking and malware as the preeminent threats, while some of new risks have been more common, such as Advanced Persistent Threats, Denial of Service attacks,IPv6 attacks and mobile malware.

"Many organisations may be assuming a satisfactory level of security without truly performing the due diligence to understand their exposure and build an appropriate security posture for a new era of IT," Robinson added.

"To truly ‘move the needle’ on security readiness, the overall approach must be re-evaluated from the top level of the business down through all departments."

About 28% of businesses said computer and network protection is a considerably higher priority these days than it was two years ago,with 37% anticipating security to turn out to be even more critical over the following two years.

In addition, about 21% of firms cited human error as a serious worry.

"End users control powerful devices and business-class systems, often without the oversight of the IT team," Robinson said.

"While they may be able to use these devices and systems, they typically do not have the background knowledge and experience with security that allows them to recognise potential threats."