Europe Remains Vulnerable To Cyberattacks Despite Stringent Legislation and Regulations

KnowBe4 releases 2024 Security Culture Report

KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing
platform, today announced that it has released its 2024 Security Culture Report. The report examines
how security measures really affect organizations and the way people act and feel at work. Segmented
into a global and regional versions by North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania,

the report takes into account regional nuances, behaviors and attitudes towards cybersecurity in the
workplace.
The report shows that, in general, organizations across Europe understand that people must be part of
its defense to increase the level of resilience as social engineering remains one of the top threats.
Organizations no longer view security awareness as a checkbox exercise for satisfying compliance
requirements, but increasingly as a strategic initiative to foster a strong security culture. However,
cybersecurity is often still considered the responsibility of a single team or unit, instead of a
collaborative effort, making it difficult to gain traction.
Further, the report shows that although the European Union is at the forefront of shaping global
cybersecurity standards through vigorous legislation and regulations, there is still a need for faster
adoption and implementation to make it effective for organizations.
The 2024 Security Culture Report examines topics such as the varied cybersecurity maturity levels across
Europe and what that means for organizations, the lack of communication in organizations and how that
aids cyberattacks, legislation and its implementation. It also covers the predicted increase in quality and
quantity of cyberattacks and how to potentially combat these, the big issue of language localisation of
specific compliance and legal requirements across the continent, and the influence of AI on the increase
of disinformation and misinformation, and more sophisticated and effective cyberattacks.
The report makes it clear that with social engineering remaining one of the top three threats in Europe,
cybersecurity education and training in organizations is a necessity to stay ahead of the ever-evolving
strategies and tactics of cybercriminals.
“While there is a notable upward trend in security awareness within Europe's most digitized sectors, the
understanding and implementation of security culture greatly differ across various industries.
Nonetheless, it is evident that many organizations still lag behind in establishing a proactive security
culture. We are, however, seeing European organizations starting to recognise and acknowledge the
critical role of integrating security awareness within their corporate culture to bolster resilience. Yet, we
must address the ongoing hurdles in sectors where cybersecurity is not universally recognised as a
collaborative effort across departments,” commented Dr. Martin J. Kraemer, security awareness
advocate at KnowBe4.
To download a copy of KnowBe4’s 2024 Security Culture Report, click here.