A new survey on the state of security defenses at organizations across the UK has revealed that while many are satisfied with their strategy there are still worrying gaps that could leave businesses exposed to attacks.
The survey, carried out by Computacenter at this year’s InfoSec conference in London, found that 88% of security professionals feel satisfied with their organization’s strategy to manage security risks, with analytics a particular source of comfort.
However the survey also revealed that a worrying number of businesses (38%) had no dedicated data loss prevention tool in place. That shows a lack of a proactive approach to security, Computacenter said.
The survey also looked at attitudes towards cloud computing. While most respondents (95%) acknowledge the security risks associated with cloud computing, just 62% said they currently have measures in place to mitigate these risks.
A few other cloud pain points were also revealed: 53% of respondents said defining a cloud strategy was something that needed to be addressed, while a similar number said it was vital to increase employee knowledge about cloud-related security threats and preventative measures.
Nearly one-third of respondents said they believe changing cloud providers is a good way to enhance their security. Computacenter says this shows cloud providers are failing to demonstrate their effectiveness at security.
“Data is the lifeblood of any organization, so any risk directly impacts the business,” said Colin Williams, Chief Technologist of Networking, Security & Unified Communications at Computacenter. “The findings of our latest research show that organizations must thoroughly look at their security strategies to ensure a holistic approach is in place to address all of the requirements of their business model.
“Traditional reactive approaches to security will no longer suffice in our increasingly digitized and mobile world, so decision makers must rethink their approach to implement a visibility rich, analytics driven approach to deliver effective information security,” Williams added.
Bill McGloin, Chief Technologist, Information at Computacenter, added: “Understanding and traversing the security landscape is difficult for even the most experienced IT professional. Companies must gain an understanding of the steps needed to better inform their security strategies."
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