According to experts, many businesses and organisations are believed to be taking the threat of data loss and the requirements of data security more seriously. This is as a result of high profile scandals involving personal information being compromised which are continually made public, engendering adverse reactions.
An Irish newspaper has published data that suggests businesses there are reacting far quicker to the threat of data loss than would be suggested by the global average. According to the Irish Times, nearly 54 per cent of companies in Ireland were in the process of strengthening their defences or initiating a data protection scheme in order to address the most common causes of data loss.
In a global survey carried out by Ernst & Young, which took on board the comments and opinions of over 1800 executives, 70 per cent of managers in the UK and Ireland expressed concerns about the security of data within their businesses. It also emerged that a growing number were considering the measures that would need to be taken in order to protect them from both internal and external attacks.
Mike Harris, speaking for Ernst & Young, said that attitudes were changing quickly around the UK as a result of more than a year of serious data loss incidences, involving hacking, laptop theft and portable storage loss. The pressure of facing the media after a security breach and the enduring effects of any scandal, are generating significant support for change and improvement within a majority of businesses.
Despite the economic downturn and a growing culture of cost-cutting, the report also found that most IT departments were retaining their current security budgets at a consistent level. This suggests that more businesses are seeing data protection as an essential commodity rather than an unnecessary luxury.
Some believe that despite the frequent occurrence of data loss, the problems facing businesses can be solved if they act on the examples set by others, both positively and negatively, to avoid the same fate.
