Report: 41 Percent of Organizations Not Protected Against IT Security Risks

  • Mar 01, 2011
McAfee Inc. has announced new research that found 41 percent of organizations are not well aware of or protected against IT security risks. An additional 40 percent are not completely confident they can effectively deploy countermeasure products, thus leaving them at risk. The report, Risk and Compliance Outlook: 2011, commissioned by McAfee and conducted by Evalueserve, found that to address these concerns, nearly half of all companies plan to spend an average of 21 percent more in 2011 on risk and compliance solutions. Overall, the survey indicated strong growth for risk and compliance products in 2011, with the majority of CSO’s and other decision-making executives demanding integrated and automated solutions rather than point products.

In regards to regulatory compliance, a large proportion, 75 percent of respondents, are not confident that they will pass a regulatory audit, with more than half of organizations stating that they have already failed an audit. Some 9 percent of companies indicated that these audit failures resulted in industry or government fines. Databases also ranked as the biggest infrastructure challenge in terms of complying with regulatory mandates.

Key findings from the study include:

  • 41 percent of companies indicate they will be investing in database activity monitoring.
  • 45 percent of companies are patching systems every week.
  • 49 percent of companies stated that they try to over-protect by patching everything.
  • 84 percent of the respondents believe that their business and security operations are effected by out-of-cycle patches.
  • 37 percent are not confident in knowing which assets need to be patched when a new threat materializes.
  • 24 percent of organizations are spending more than $250,000 annually on auditors.
  • Compliance is perceived as the main budget driver for 25 percent of IT projects.
  • More than 40 percent of organizations get into “firefight mode” when a regulatory audit approaches, diverting critical resources away from strategic priorities.
  • 39 percent are not confident of being able to translate IT risks into business risks.
  • 56 percent of organizations indicated adding countermeasure awareness to their risk analysis would provide the biggest benefit.
  • 60 percent of the respondents believe that up to 10 percent of downtime is attributable to unauthorized changes that take place over the entire year.

“Organizations are under increasing pressure to protect customer information and privacy, as well as their own sensitive business information, driving the need for a strong focus on risk and compliance management,” said Stuart McClure, senior vice president and general manager of risk and compliance for McAfee. “As the results of this study show, companies recognize the need to improve risk management through better identification of threats, vulnerabilities and countermeasures, as well as the need to improve policy compliance through more automation of IT controls.”


Featured

  • The Evolution of IP Camera Intelligence

    As the 30th anniversary of the IP camera approaches in 2026, it is worth reflecting on how far we have come. The first network camera, launched in 1996, delivered one frame every 17 seconds—not impressive by today’s standards, but groundbreaking at the time. It did something that no analog system could: transmit video over a standard IP network. Read Now

  • From Surveillance to Intelligence

    Years ago, it would have been significantly more expensive to run an analytic like that — requiring a custom-built solution with burdensome infrastructure demands — but modern edge devices have made it accessible to everyone. It also saves time, which is a critical factor if a missing child is involved. Video compression technology has played a critical role as well. Over the years, significant advancements have been made in video coding standards — including H.263, MPEG formats, and H.264—alongside compression optimization technologies developed by IP video manufacturers to improve efficiency without sacrificing quality. The open-source AV1 codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media—a consortium including Google, Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon and others — is already the preferred decoder for cloud-based applications, and is quickly becoming the standard for video compression of all types. Read Now

  • Cost: Reactive vs. Proactive Security

    Security breaches often happen despite the availability of tools to prevent them. To combat this problem, the industry is shifting from reactive correction to proactive protection. This article will examine why so many security leaders have realized they must “lead before the breach” – not after. Read Now

  • Achieving Clear Audio

    In today’s ever-changing world of security and risk management, effective communication via an intercom and door entry communication system is a critical communication tool to keep a facility’s staff, visitors and vendors safe. Read Now

  • Beyond Apps: Access Control for Today’s Residents

    The modern resident lives in an app-saturated world. From banking to grocery delivery, fitness tracking to ridesharing, nearly every service demands another download. But when it comes to accessing the place you live, most people do not want to clutter their phone with yet another app, especially if its only purpose is to open a door. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”