A survey by the World Economic Forum says only 15 percent of firms believe digital literacy of workers will improve in the next two years.

The finding is shown in the WEF’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook Report for 2024 published online on Friday.

The gloomy outlook was attributed by 52 percent of 120 company executives surveyed to their lack of cybersecurity professionals who can teach and train other workers.

Lacking the right number of people

“Year on year, more organizations lack the right number of people with the right skills to meet their cyber-resilience objectives,” the WEF said.

Last year, the number of company leaders who shared their cybersecurity staff was insufficient rose to 12 percent or double the 2022 level.

Shielding companies from cyber threats was deemed a major goal for 90 percent of the respondents.

To achieve this, the company leaders suggested three measures: Collaboration between business leaders, streamlined cybersecurity regulations of governments across the globe, and simpler requirements on cybersecurity standards for companies.

“On the one hand, 60 percent of leaders from private organizations feel that cyber and privacy regulation effectively reduces risk in their organization’s ecosystem, up from 39 percent in 2022,” the WEF said.

Borderless cyber threats

Despite the borderless cyber threats, the WEF report says only 17 percent of business leaders believed collaborations for exchange of safety measures would expand, compared to 23 percent among cybersecurity workers.

“This could be because cyber leaders have more direct access to these collaborations and can see how they are growing in operational maturity,” the WEF said.

While it may seem a minor problem, the firm executives said the government requirements must be realistic so companies can quickly adjust their cyber programs.

The WEF survey shows 7 percent of respondents considered such requirements as “too technical” or “inappropriate” for their organizations.

“Not only is regulation valuable, but greater alignment across industries and geographies would make cyber and privacy regulation even more beneficial,” the WEF said.