The Cybe FOX 2027 Secu ity Matu ity I dex™ shows a gap betwee the secu ity p i ciples o ga izatio s e do se a d the co t ols thei teams ca execute, a d fi ds that ope ability is becomi g a key secu ity equi eme t
TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cybe FOX®, a global cybe secu ity softwa e p ovide helpi g IT teams co t ol access, p otect c ede tials, a d secu e co ectivity, today eleased the Cybe FOX 2027 Secu ity Matu ity I dex™, a su vey of 361 IT a d cybe secu ity leade s at small a d mid-sized o ga izatio s. Sixty-two pe ce t of leade s say limited staffi g has left impo ta t secu ity isks u add essed, a d 46% say thei most sig ifica t k ow secu ity gap has bee ope fo at least six mo ths.
Of the leade s su veyed, 60% say thei o ga izatio closely follows least p ivilege p i ciples, yet 54% say employees still etai sta di g admi ist ato ights o thei devices. O ly 8% have completely eplaced sta di g admi accou ts with tempo a y elevatio .
- 75% say secu ity espo sibilities have g ow faste tha IT headcou t ove the past th ee yea s.
- 57% have impleme ted a secu ity solutio the team lacked the time o expe tise to fully deploy o ma age.
- 77% allow employees to use ge e ative AI tools fo wo k, while o ly 16% have comp ehe sive AI policies i place.
- 59% p io itize educi g admi ist ative wo k ove additio al adva ced featu es.
Leade s o IT teams of fewe tha 15 people epo t wide gaps tha leade s o teams of 15 to 50, a d they lea ha de o ma aged se vice p ovide s (MSPs) a d ma aged secu ity se vice p ovide s (MSSPs).
| Limited staffi g has left impo ta t secu ity isks u add essed | 81% | 37% | Most sig ifica t k ow secu ity gap has bee ope 12 mo ths o lo ge | 34% | 10% | Use a MSP o MSSP fo at least o e IT o cybe secu ity fu ctio | 79% | 41% |
“Most IT leade s I talk to k ow exactly what they should be doi g. They’ve ead the f amewo ks a d they ag ee with them,” said David Belli i, CEO of Cybe FOX. “What they do ’t have is e ough people to keep eve y co t ol u i g, so a k ow isk sits ope fo six mo ths o a yea . Cybe FOX a this esea ch to measu e the dista ce betwee what teams i te d to do a d what they ca sustai .”
“A 10-pe so IT team gets the same audit questio s a d the same i su a ce questio ai e as a team five times its size,” said A d ew Be si ge , CTO of Cybe FOX. “Whe the secu ity wo k keeps g owi g a d the team does ’t, the co t ols that last a e the o es that keep u i g without someo e babysitti g them.”
The epo t also i t oduces the Five Levels of Ope able Secu ity (Reactive, Developi g, Ope atio al, Ma aged, a d Optimized), a model o ga izatio s ca use to be chma k how co siste tly they u access co t ols.
Cybe FOX commissio ed i depe de t esea ch age cy T e dCa dy to su vey 361 IT a d cybe secu ity leade s at the ma age level a d above, ac oss 16 i dust y segme ts, at o ga izatio s with fewe tha 5,000 employees a d IT teams of 1 to 50 employees. The double-bli d o li e su vey has a ma gi of e o of +/-5% at the 95% co fide ce level.
The Cybe FOX 2027 Secu ity Matu ity I dex is available fo dow load at https://bit.ly/47TU7go. Cybe FOX executives will discuss the fi di gs with IT a d secu ity leade s i a webi a o Novembe 19 at 12 p.m. EST. Registe he e.
Cybe FOX® is the leadi g global cybe secu ity softwa e p ovide that delive s p actical, p oactive secu ity fo IT teams at small a d mid-sized o ga izatio s. Its p oduct po tfolio closes the secu ity gaps these teams face eve y day: Cybe FOX AutoElevate fo p ivileged access ma ageme t, Cybe FOX Passwo d Ma age to elimi ate weak o eused passwo ds, Cybe FOX DNS Filte i g, a AI-powe ed web p otectio solutio , Timus SASE, A Cybe FOX Platfo m to eplace outdated VPNs with Ze o T ust Netwo k Access, a d Optimize365 fo co ti uous Mic osoft 365 te a t mo ito i g a d ha de i g. Each p oduct deploys i hou s, u s with mi imal upkeep, a d is p iced fo eal-wo ld budgets, givi g u de – esou ced IT teams e te p ise-level secu ity without e te p ise complexity.
Lea mo e at www.cybe fox.com.
Mic osoft 365 is a t adema k of the Mic osoft g oup of compa ies.
