Cybercrime Underground More Dangerous Than Organizations Realize, Threat Intelligence Firm Warns -

Kela, a cyber threat intelligence specialist, found in a new study of some 400 security pros in the U.S. that organizations are more at risk from the “cybercrime underground” than they realize.

The Israel-based company surveyed security team members responsible for gathering cybercrime threat intelligence daily to better understand if they're proactively scanning the dark web and other cybercrime sources, what tools they're using and the gaps they see in their cybercrime threat intelligence approach. Nearly 60% of the respondents do not believe their current cybercrime prevention is effective, the results showed.

What We Learn From Kela's Report

Here are the study’s key findings:

69% are concerned about threats from the cybercrime underground.

54% wouldn't be surprised to find their organization's data on the cybercrime underground.

Only 38% believe that they're very likely to detect it if it was released.

48% have no documented cybercrime threat intelligence policy in place.

Only 41% believe their current security program is very effective.

49% are not satisfied with the visibility they have of the cybercrime underground.

Of the 51% who were satisfied with their visibility into the cybercrime underground, 39% were still unable to prevent an attack.

Additional training and proficiency in cybercrime intelligence investigations is the most needed capability.

Cyber Underground Dangers Unknown

Organizations don’t fully understand how dangerous the cybercrime underground is, says David Carmiel, Kela’s chief executive, noting that threats are much more comprehensive, complex and change rapidly.

“With these findings, we hope to proactively educate the security community about the state and future of cybercrime so they can stay ahead of the curve," Carmiel said.