“Companies have trouble with application security requirements.

According to the 2018 Application Protect Report of F5 Labs, a large number of companies worldwide are struggling with the security and optimization of their growing application environments. In addition, 38 percent of companies say they have no confidence in their own view of the applications used.

However, there are regional differences, according to additional research by the Ponemon Institute. In the United Kingdom, only 32 percent say they have confidence in their view of applications. That’s the lowest number in the world. Germany is the country with the most confidence. There, 45 percent say they have everything under control in the field of applications.

The report also analysed the security of web applications. 60 percent do not carry out any tests to detect vulnerabilities, have no fixed routine in this or only do it annually. 46 percent of the respondents stated that their organisation is unable to detect vulnerabilities. 49 percent say they can’t take any countermeasures.

Companies see a third of their apps as crucial. The most important apps are document management and collaboration, communication apps and Microsoft Office applications.

Risks

In all countries, three risks are identified as the most important. This concerns the theft of log-in data, DDoS attacks and (web) fraud. With 81 percent, Canada is the most afraid of account data theft. In Europe, this is Germany, with 76%. The United Kingdom states that web fraud is the most risky (57 per cent).

On average, it costs $6.86 million if an application fails as a result of an attack, according to the report. In the United States, the cost is the highest, at USD 10.64 million. Germany ranks second with $9.17 million. In the event of data loss, the costs will increase further. They are $16.91 million in the US and $11.30 million in Germany.

The report also mentioned the most important countermeasures to keep apps safe. The three most important ones are Web Application Firewalls (WAF), application scanning and penetration tests. The USA, Brazil, Germany, Canada and India are the main WAF users. Penetration tests are common in India, China, Brazil, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and the USA. Application scanning is popular in India, China, Brazil, USA, Germany and the United Kingdom.