http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/20/cisco_security_survey/
By John Leyden
20th April 2006
Despite the apparent growth in security incidents and hacker attacks
over recent years, a clear majority (72 per cent) of UK security
professionals feel their organisation is more secure than it was 12
months ago.
Organisations are no longer on the back foot in the fight against
security threats, with only 11 per cent of respondents in a survey of
100 chief security officers (CSOs) and IT directors saying they take a
'reactive only' approach to security.
More firms are putting in place contingency plans to ensure they can
continue to operate in spite of evolving digital and physical threats,
the Cisco-sponsored poll found. Survey respondents have contingency
plans in place for power failure (96 per cent), fire (95 per cent),
loss of data (93 per cent), physical access to buildings (86 per
cent), and flooding (80 per cent).
IT pros have long complained that management frequently fails to
understand the importance of their work. This may be changing, as the
survey, which was conducted by market research outfit Vanson Borne on
behalf of Cisco, found that only 23 per cent of respondents felt that
security is still not recognised as a boardroom level issue.
Firms are also making progress in educating staff on security issues.
The majority of respondents have extensive IT security training in
place, such as acceptable usage policies (92 per cent), email usage
policies (85 per cent), password policies (81 per cent), and training
in the need for backups (59 per cent).
"It is very encouraging to see that, despite ongoing reports of new
threats and breaches, businesses across all sectors are feeling better
protected," Cisco Systems senior security advisor Paul King said.
"Businesses have recognised the importance of implementing
comprehensive security strategies and are beginning to anticipate what
might be around the corner." ®
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