Study: Encryption Critical to Increase Security Posture

  • Mar 01, 2012

Thales, provider of information systems and communications security, recently announced the publication of the 2011 Global Encryption Trends Study. The report, based on independent research by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by Thales, reveals that encryption is now seen as a strategic issue and that organizations are increasing their investment in encryption across the enterprise in response to compliance regulations and cyber-attacks.

More than 4,000 business and IT managers were surveyed in the US, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Japan and Brazil. This year’s study looks at more territories than in any previous year since its launch in 2005 when it was the first to examine regional differences in encryption usage.

The report found that encryption deployment rates vary across different countries. Germany, the US and Japan show the greatest use of encryption. However, what is clear is that encryption is growing in importance in all the countries, with companies increasingly deploying encryption as part of an overall data protection strategy. In 2005 only 15 percnet of organizations surveyed had an encryption strategy, today for the first time there are more organizations with an encryption strategy than without.

Encryption is now viewed as a strategic issue with business leaders gaining greater influence over their organization’s encryption strategy. The study shows that the CIO, CTO or IT leader still tends to be the most important figure in deciding encryption strategy (39 percent of respondents), but non-IT business managers have an increasing role in determining that strategy (more than doubling since 2005 to 21 percent of respondents), demonstrating that encryption is no longer seen as just an IT issue but one that affects an entire organization.

The main drivers for deploying encryption solutions are to protect brand reputation (45 percent) and lessen the impact of data breaches (40 percent). Compliance is also a major driver for using encryption with 39% of respondents saying it is to comply with privacy or data security regulations and requirements. Compliance is also driving increased budgets with the highest IT security spend dedicated to data protection in countries that rank compliance as the most important driver for encryption. Compliance is in fact the number one driver for using encryption in the US, UK and France.

Respondents considered key management issues to be amongst the most important features of encryption technology, in particular the use of automated and centralized key management. Most interestingly, half of respondents believed that investments in key management had the potential to reduce operational costs within their organization. The significance of key management was further illustrated when respondents were asked about the relative importance of various best practices or “standards of due care” when deploying encryption with 5 out the top 7 being explicitly focused on key management issues.

Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of The Ponemon Institute, says, “The scale and geographical reach of this year’s study is greater than ever before. The regional differences in encryption usage highlighted by the study are fascinating and, in some cases, surprising. Nonetheless, regardless of an organization’s location, it is clear that encryption and key management are becoming more widely deployed and increasingly seen as strategic issues. Encryption usage has emerged as a clear indicator of a strong security posture with organizations that deploy encryption being more aware of threats to sensitive and confidential information and making a greater investment in IT security.”

“Encryption is taking center stage as a strategic IT security issue, in order to mitigate the risk of data breaches and cyber-attacks and to protect an organization’s brand, reputation and credibility.” says Franck Greverie, Thales vice president in charge of information technology security activities. “However encryption is only a valuable tool if deployed correctly. Thales enables its customers to achieve high levels of assurance when deploying all forms of cryptography. By following the appropriate standards of due care our customers are able to reinforce their organization’s data security practices and protect their most valuable assets and business processes”.

 

Featured

  • Survey: 48 Percent of Worshippers Feel Less Safe Attending In-Person Services

    Almost half (48%) of those who attend religious services say they feel less safe attending in-person due to rising acts of violence at places of worship. In fact, 39% report these safety concerns have led them to change how often they attend in-person services, according to new research from Verkada conducted online by The Harris Poll among 1,123 U.S. adults who attend a religious service or event at least once a month. Read Now

  • AI Used as Part of Sophisticated Espionage Campaign

    A cybersecurity inflection point has been reached in which AI models has become genuinely useful in cybersecurity operation. But to no surprise, they can used for both good works and ill will. Systemic evaluations show cyber capabilities double in six months, and they have been tracking real-world cyberattacks showing how malicious actors were using AI capabilities. These capabilities were predicted and are expected to evolve, but what stood out for researchers was how quickly they have done so, at scale. Read Now

  • Why the Future of Video Security Is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reasons. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. Read Now

  • UL Solutions Launches Artificial Intelligence Safety Certification Services

    UL Solutions Inc., a global leader in safety science, today announced the launch of artificial intelligence (AI) safety certification services, enabling comprehensive assessments for evaluating the safety of AI-powered products. Read Now

  • ESA Announces Initiative to Introduce the SECURE Act in State Legislatures

    The Electronic Security Association (ESA), the national voice for the electronic security and life safety industry, has announced plans to introduce the SECURE Act in state legislatures across the country beginning in 2025. The proposal, known as Safeguarding Election Candidates Using Reasonable Expenditures, provides a clear framework that allows candidates and elected officials to use campaign funds for professional security services. Read Now

    • Guard Services
Most   Popular

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.