Is your organization being targeted for attack?
A new report released last week revealed some telling statistics on the security of certain “critical infrastructure” industries like power plants, sewer/water systems, and oil/gas companies. In a survey of 600 IT security executives from companies in 14 countries, more than half have already suffered major attacks from malicious organizations. Another 40 percent expect to be infiltrated with a large-scale attack within the next 12 months.
Is your organization prepared to combat such an attack?
The report, commissioned by McAfee, Inc. and authored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), further divulged that a majority of companies suspected opposing governments to have a hand in the attacks and that recession-induced cutbacks have increased the risk of vulnerability. Additionally, a number of executives expressed their feelings of unpreparedness for such an attack.
Furthermore, the report stated that the risk of cyber-attacks is rising, noting that over one-third of executives said the vulnerability of their sector rose within the last year in spite of increased legislative action. Only 20 percent of executives believed their sector would remain safe over the next five years. Clearly, with only 20 percent of IT experts confident in their security measures, IT security needs to be taken more seriously.
Hopefully, a report with findings such as these will encourage companies with IT departments to recognize the legitimacy of IT security and allocate more resources to provide effective information security for their organizations. And if you’re a small business without an IT staff, it’s time to seriously consider trusting a reliable IT security firm to keep your organization safe.
[photo:mark i geo]
Additional Resources:
Keep Your Computer Secure In This Bad Economy
Eliminating Small Business Security Threats
Tags: Center for Strategic and International Studies, computer security, information security, IT experts, IT security, McAfee, oil/gas, sewer/water systems