Senior IT leaders are struggling to cope with the complexity of recovering from cyber incidents, with overconfidence and lack of expertise compounding the problem, according to research conducted by managed infrastructure provider 11:11 Systems.

The research, which gathered responses from more than 800 IT, security and risk leaders across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, revealed that 81% believe their organisations are overconfident in their cyber recovery capabilities. This is despite the fact that 82% experienced at least one cyber attack in the past year, and 57% suffered two or more. Almost three quarters (74%) said the integration of AI technologies is likely to increase their vulnerability to cyber attacks.

European respondents, which made up 48% of the total sample, highlighted planning complexity as a leading concern, with 40% citing it as their top issue. This figure rose to 42% in the UK and the Netherlands. The financial impact of downtime was also stark. Reported losses from just one hour of cyber-related disruption reached up to £395,000 for 78% of respondents, while 16% said losses were between £396,000 and £790,000. A further 6% reported losses exceeding £790,000.

More than half of respondents said it typically takes between one and two weeks to recover fully from a cyber incident. The combination of extended recovery times and hourly losses means costs can escalate quickly, covering downtime, business disruption, legal fees and regulatory penalties.

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