Lack of Leadership, Resources Putting Company Data at Risk, Study Finds

Businesses don’t have enough resources to enforce security compliance, and risks for companies are on the rise, according to a new study. With laptop losses increasing, indifferent security practices and a need for better mobile security, is it time companies took security seriously?

In an article on the e-Week website, Michelle Maisto says the study by Dell and the Ponemon Institute, in both the United States and the United Kingdom, says the reported number one reason that stolen or lost laptops create risk—as well as expenses—for businesses is insufficient resources to enforce compliance, followed by ineffective security leadership and a lack of support from senior management.

The study found that 75 percent of respondents in the US and 70 percent in the UK say they knew of an incident in their organization in which confidential or sensitive information was at risk as a result of a lost or stolen laptop.

When asked how often an employee, temporary employee or contractor puts their organization’s confidential data at risk, 54 percent of U.S. respondents said frequently. When asked how many laptops were lost or stolen within the past year in their organizations, 31 percent didn’t know and 23 percent responded “between 11 to 20.”

“Anytime and anywhere employees, temporary employees and contractors can access and store enormous amounts of confidential data about customers, employees and their organizations’ operations. When these laptops are lost due to negligence or theft, the data is at risk if the organization has failed to use such safeguards as encryption or anti-theft technologies,” writes Dr. Larry Ponemon, author of the report.

“In the report, Ponemon offers seven steps for reducing the risks incurred by stolen or lost laptops, including conducting an audit to determine where laptops are used within your organization; conducting a risk assessment to determine possible theft scenarios for the data stored, processed or transmitted by the laptop; and implementing the required protection strategies,” Maisto says.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Desktops-and-Notebooks/Dell-Study-Lack-of-Leadership-Resources-Putting-Company-Data-at-Risk-517946/