Nordic IT security overview

According to an IDC survey of 600 Nordic companies on security, attacks are still successful, despite efforts by companies to implement antivirus software and firewalls. The survey reveals that hackers have become smarter and have found new ways to exploit weak points in companies' IT infrastructures, with attacks now often concentrating on user behaviour, which has put the user in a central position.

Security policy scored highest when survey respondents were asked about which technologies they planned to implement. This is not surprising, given the exploitation of users by hackers and the very high penetration of antivirus and firewall protection products. The focus now, however, is moving from products to different types of services, as users respond to increasing threats and vendors seek new revenue sources to sustain growth.

However, investment in the current security infrastructure remains huge and continues to increase at a faster pace than other IT investments. In all four countries, security-related investments are increasing at a higher rate than other IT investments. Sweden and Denmark are increasing their investments in security the most, at around 10 percent more than average IT growth.

The survey also shows that there is evidence that management focus on plans and strategies to prevent or anticipate coming incidents pays off in IT security. The results show that there is a positive correlation between management involvement and implementation of security products and processes, resulting in fewer incidents.

The market is slowly maturing and what IDC has said for a long time now - that investment in security should not be regarded as an insurance premium, but as a business enabler — is beginning to take root.

IDC analyst Nils Molin, who carried out the security survey, will be available at IDC's Directions 2005: Denmark conference, in Copenhagen on January 25, 2005. For more information about the conference, please visit nordic.idc.com/dir05

•Date: 11th January 2005 • Region: W.Europe •Type: Article •Topic: ISM
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