A new study has revealed security vulnerabilities in UK businesses, with nearly half of companies experiencing data breaches caused by unmanaged or unseen devices in the past year alone.
The research, “Bridging the Visibility Gap,” was carried out by unified endpoint management provider Scalefusion surveying IT leaders across the UK, and uncovered critical blind spots in enterprise device management that are leaving organisations exposed to cyber threats.
Key survey findings showed that more than two-thirds (67%) of IT leaders lack complete visibility into all work devices across their organisation, with nearly a quarter (23.5%) detecting unauthorised devices accessing corporate data at least monthly, and with over a third of breach victims experiencing attacks monthly.
Only 35% of IT leaders feel very confident in their team's ability to quickly contain and remediate security incidents.
The study reveals that the shift to hybrid and remote working has created challenges for IT security teams, and 64% of organisations discovered previously unknown devices or applications being used for work purposes in the last year, highlighting the extent of shadow IT operations.
Frequent security incidents among affected companies showed that among the 48% who experienced breaches from unmanaged devices, over a third (35%) reported facing attacks on at least a monthly basis, indicating that these are not isolated incidents but ongoing, systematic vulnerabilities.
The research also exposed how organisations' attempts to address security challenges may be making matters worse. 59% of companies are using four or more different endpoint security tools, creating a complex web of systems that's proving counterproductive – and this tool proliferation is causing significant operational challenges.
Only 7% of organisations claimed to face no problems from their multi-tool approach.
Sally King, Channel Sales Manager UK&I at Scalefusion (pictured) commented: “These findings confirm that there's a critical gap between the security challenges organisations face and their ability to address them effectively. Visibility and simplification is needed, with a unified approach that brings all endpoints under one management umbrella rather than juggling multiple disconnected systems.”
The study suggests that organisations recognising these challenges and moving toward unified solutions are better positioned to address the evolving threat landscape while reducing operational complexity.