Senior executives at US firms may be overconfident in their cybersecurity protection, according to a new survey conducted by research and consultancy firm Ovum for Silicon Valley analytics firm FICO. Twenty-seven percent of executives from US firms said they were better prepared than their competitors, and an additional 27 percent of these executives said their firm was a top performer. US respondents were more likely to rate their firms as above average than respondents in Canada.

Telecommunications providers were the most confident of all. Ninety-one percent of respondents said they were better prepared than their competitors, with 55 percent calling their firm a top performer.

Healthcare institutions, in contrast, showed the least amount of confidence in their protection, with 32 percent unsure of how they stack up against competitors and 16 percent rating their firm below industry average, while only 11 percent rated their firm above average.

"The danger in overconfidence is that it can impact investment," said Bob Shiflet, who oversees fraud and financial crime solutions at FICO. "We would encourage firms to continue their diligence and not allow confidence to turn into complacency."

Ovum conducted the survey for FICO through telephone interviews with 350 CXOs and senior security officers in the US, Canada, the UK and the Nordics in March and April 2017. Respondents represented firms in financial services, telecommunications, retail, ecommerce and media service providers. FICO's solutions for cybersecurity include the FICO Enterprise Security Score, which firms use to benchmark their own cybersecurity posture as well as that of vendors and partners.