Employees Ignorant Towards IT Security

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. and the Ponemon Institute has released the findings of a global survey, ‘Web 2.0 Security in the Workplace’, revealing that up to 82 percent of IT security administrators surveyed believe social networking, Internet applications and widgets have significantly lowered the security posture of their organisation.

Respondents cited viruses, malware and data loss as the top Web 2.0 concerns, with as many as 77 percent of businesses planning to implement a solution addressing such vulnerabilities within the next five years.

According to the survey of over 2,100 IT security administrators in countries around the world, the majority of respondents believe employees are essential to helping organisations mitigate security risks associated with emerging Internet applications in the enterprise. However, IT security administrators believe employees rarely or never consider corporate security threats in their everyday business communications – when downloading Internet applications, web browsing, opening links, video streaming, utilising peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing sites and engaging in social networking outlets. As a result, education and awareness is needed to help end users realise their important role in maintaining the organisation’s security profile.

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“Our research finds security can be seen as an afterthought for corporate users of Web 2.0 applications; the growing number and sophistication of security threats, coupled with the proliferation of online and easily downloadable tools, is exacerbating the challenges of protecting sensitive information,” said Dr. Larry Ponemon, Chairman and Founder, Ponemon Institute. “And while this is an issue that must be addressed through strategic investment in technology and awareness, our research also shows that most IT administrators do not believe their organisations have sufficient resources dedicated to securing critical web applications.”

“It’s clear that IT security administrators are concerned about the impact of Web 2.0 applications in the enterprise, but they also need better tools to understand which applications employees are using for business purposes,” said Juliette Sultan, Head- Global Marketing, Check Point Software Technologies. “Implementing a flexible solution that factors in specific group or individual needs provides the bridge between users and IT administrators, and ultimately encourages employees to be more cautious when web browsing, taking into account corporate security policies.”

Additional key findings from the survey:

• Sense of Urgency — Nearly 50 percent of survey respondents place a high sense of urgency on minimising security risks associated with internet applications and widgets.
• More User Accountability Needed — The majority of respondents believe that employees should be held most responsible for mitigating Web 2.0 security risks in the enterprise.
• Lack of Education on Corporate Security — An average of 20 percent of respondents believe employees rarely or never consider security issues when using social networking and Internet applications in their everyday business communications.
• Most Common Problems — Workplace productivity, malware and data loss are cited as the most concerning problems of using new Internet applications in the workplace.