Firms 'starting to realise importance of data security'

2009-10-09

It seems that companies are beginning to realise the importance of being proactive when it comes to information security, which could include those hoping to avoid a serious data breach.

A survey commissioned by Dimension Data and carried out by IDC has revealed that for 59 per cent of organisations polled, the average spend on IT security within the overall IT budget stayed at ten per cent or more.

Neil Campbell, Dimension Data's global general manager of security solutions, revealed that 59 per cent of companies are looking to invest in IT security audits, while 57 are seeking to spend on data loss prevention. He revealed that 407 companies in 18 countries were polled as part of the study.

He continued: "They're also realising that IT is the principal vehicle for enabling business, and if their IT assets are not secured, their business is at enormous risk, and they're turning to specialists in governance and risk management to tackle IT security holistically.

"Data needs to become the primary focus of security activity because after its people, data is an organisation's most crucial asset."

Despite this apparent rise in firms getting more proactive when it comes to data security, the research also revealed that only 19 per cent of respondents increased their overall IT spending from 2008 to 2009. Over two-fifths (41 per cent) cut their IT spending, mainly because of the economic downturn.

According to Mr Campbell, the research showed that one day of downtime caused by a data breach would have a bigger impact on manufacturers than on financial services organisations. He added that it is essential that companies figure out what the risk would be if a data leak or another security breach occurred.

The Anti-Phishing Working Group recently revealed in a report that payment services are now phishing's most targeted sector.

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