Less than half of critical business data in UK organizations is secure: survey

Senior executives within UK businesses say that critical data is not being protected, a new report from NTT Com Security shows. The Risk:Value report, based on a survey of 800 business decision-makers (not in an IT role) in the UK, Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Norway, Sweden and the US, shows that UK executives believe that less than half (49 percent) of their critical data is fully secure.

The report, designed to assess the level of risk within large organizations and the value that senior people place on data security, reveals that the majority (56 percent) of respondents in the UK agree they are likely to suffer a security breach at some point: which rises to 63 percent on average globally.

Nearly three-quarters (72 percent) believe it is vital that their organization is insured for data security breaches, but only half (54 percent) admit their company insurance currently covers the financial impact of both data loss and a security breach.

Garry Sidaway, Senior Vice President Security Strategy & Alliances, NTT Com Security, says: “The results provide some real insight into the minds of non-IT executives about the value they place on the data in their business and whether they feel this data is at risk. The report shows a kind of ‘security maturity’ scale developing among businesses who value their data, but do not always recognise the risks to critical information. When asked what they associate with the term data security, only half say it is as ‘vital’, while less than a quarter see it as ‘a business enabler’.

“Unfortunately, security at the board level still tends be associated with data protection and compliance, when in fact securing data properly is absolutely critical to enabling businesses to thrive and survive. There’s also a growing disconnect between the cost of breaches and the importance that organizations place on IT security to drive these costs down.”

The report reveals that UK executives are also underestimating the impact of a security breach. Almost a fifth (19 percent) think there would be no significant impact on their revenue, while 28 percent admit they do not know what the financial implications would be. On average, however, UK companies estimate a drop in revenue of 7 percent. A quarter (24 percent) say it would take between one and three months to recover, with five months being the average in both the UK and across all eight countries.

Read the report (PDF).

•Date: 13th November 2014 • UK •Type: Article • Topic: ISM

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