Data Theft Surges Despite Increased IT Security Budgets

NetIQ Corporation has announced the results of an IT security survey commissioned through Harris Interactive, revealing the current effectiveness of data protection efforts. While more than one-half of IT budgets are allocated towards security, 70 percent of respondents have been impacted by security breaches and still struggle to mitigate attacks due to limited time and resources. Fifty-five percent of respondents also admit they lack the ability to manage security in virtualised and cloud environments and are least confident in their ability to successfully monitor and secure consumer devices, such as smart phones and tablets.

NetIQ and Harris Interactive surveyed 200 IT security decision makers within enterprise organisations.

Highlights from the survey include:

Approximately eight in ten respondents experienced the following in the past two years:

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• Malware (76 percent)

• Lost/stolen equipment (75 percent)

• External data theft (74 percent)

• Insider data theft (72 percent)

Respondents cited the following as their most difficult challenges:

• Lack of time to monitor vast amounts of data (64 percent)

• Inability to manage security in the cloud (55 percent)

• Inability to manage security in virtualised environments (54 percent)

With organisations facing more challenges and risks than ever, IT security budgets continue to grow. Nearly eight in ten (77 percent) respondents indicated IT security budgets are higher this year compared to last, and on average, over one-half (59 percent) of enterprise IT budget is allocated towards security.

While survey participants overwhelmingly stated that security solutions have improved in recent years, the amount of stolen data validates that there is still considerable room for improvement:

Nearly all respondents agree today’s IT security solutions are better than those of five years ago. Four in 10 (44 percent) believe they are “much better.”

Respondents cited the following as weaknesses of today’s security solutions:

• Handling consumer devices (such as smart phones)

• The short life span of today’s solutions

• Handling the disappearance of the traditional firewall/perimeter

• Difficulty in deploying solutions

• While 65 percent of respondents say they use an identity management solution, external and internal data theft remains high.

“We live in a data-driven society and access to sensitive or proprietary data continues to bleed past organisational walls, making it an ongoing challenge for IT security teams to protect corporate data,” said Jay Roxe, Solution Marketing director, NetIQ. “Organisations must be able to monitor activity across multiple environments, proactively identify and mitigate security threats in real time and allow for meaningful data analysis so that proactive controls can be implemented. By requiring these components, IT security teams can make better use of their resources, tackle the integration of new platforms and technologies and ultimately reduce organisational cost and risk.”