I just came across a slightly dated survey: according to csoonline.com, research reveals that 70% of IT security admin don't use laptop encryption software to secure their laptop computers. Plus, 87% don't use encryption on their USB and other portable media.
The global survey was carried out by Check Point Software in September 2010. Their survey reveals that many companies are not ready to deal with the security challenges posed by an increasingly mobile workforce. The reason could lie in the fact that, in order to ensure an organization's security, products from an average of nine vendors are being used. This creates challenges in trying to integrate everything (and may inadvertently create new security holes as well). However, the need for such security is clearer than ever, with more companies extending to their workforce the ability to work from remote locations, be it from home or from a coffee shop.
The global survey was carried out by Check Point Software in September 2010. Their survey reveals that many companies are not ready to deal with the security challenges posed by an increasingly mobile workforce.
The reason could lie in the fact that, in order to ensure an organization's security, products from an average of nine vendors are being used. This creates challenges in trying to integrate everything (and may inadvertently create new security holes as well).
However, the need for such security is clearer than ever, with more companies extending to their workforce the ability to work from remote locations, be it from home or from a coffee shop.
The above figures are higher than what I've seen in previous studies. However, it's possibly due to the fact that this survey includes regions that traditionally have not been included in such surveys: the Americas (that's North and South), Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. Past studies, if I seem to recall correctly, included the US, Canada, Europe, and a smattering of Asia-Pacific countries (Japan and Australia, I think) but left out the Middle East and South America. Why include previously excluded regions? Cynics might say, "it's the standard FUD factor: fear, uncertainty, and doubt." These tend to drive the sale of security products, and the higher the corresponding figures, the more effective in spreading FUD. On the other hand, it's pretty apparent that there is no "U" or "D" when it comes to data breaches. A more accurate answer might lie in that identity theft and on-line fraud are becoming big problems for previously unaffected areas across the globe, hence studies are beginning to include these regions into their surveys as well. For example, South Korea has had two very high-profile data breaches in the past month alone: NH Bank, where a credit union's services went down nationwide for seven days, and Hyundai Capital, where 420,000 customers were affected. Plus, significant efforts in strengthening data and privacy laws are just coming to fruition in many parts of the world. We at AlertBoot are also beginning to see such a trend, with inquiries for our cloud-managed disk encryption, integrated with automatic USB portable-device encryption, increasingly coming from regions other than the US and Europe.
The above figures are higher than what I've seen in previous studies. However, it's possibly due to the fact that this survey includes regions that traditionally have not been included in such surveys: the Americas (that's North and South), Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. Past studies, if I seem to recall correctly, included the US, Canada, Europe, and a smattering of Asia-Pacific countries (Japan and Australia, I think) but left out the Middle East and South America.
Why include previously excluded regions? Cynics might say, "it's the standard FUD factor: fear, uncertainty, and doubt." These tend to drive the sale of security products, and the higher the corresponding figures, the more effective in spreading FUD. On the other hand, it's pretty apparent that there is no "U" or "D" when it comes to data breaches.
A more accurate answer might lie in that identity theft and on-line fraud are becoming big problems for previously unaffected areas across the globe, hence studies are beginning to include these regions into their surveys as well. For example, South Korea has had two very high-profile data breaches in the past month alone: NH Bank, where a credit union's services went down nationwide for seven days, and Hyundai Capital, where 420,000 customers were affected.
Plus, significant efforts in strengthening data and privacy laws are just coming to fruition in many parts of the world.
We at AlertBoot are also beginning to see such a trend, with inquiries for our cloud-managed disk encryption, integrated with automatic USB portable-device encryption, increasingly coming from regions other than the US and Europe.
Related Articles and Sites:http://www.csoonline.com/article/645616/most-enterprises-fail-to-encrypt-survey