Information security is critical, now more than ever, and organisations stand to lose intellectual property, competitive corporate information, customer identities and much more as the number of IT security breaches have increased over the past year due to a lack of adequate security measures.
RSA - The Security Division of EMC, in partnership with ITWeb, undertakes IT Security surveys on a regular basis to better understand the security landscape in South Africa. As a global organisation, RSA is committed to continuously improving its knowledge and understanding of South African organisations' security needs and status.
On this note, the 2015 online IT Security Survey seeks to determine the importance of information security to South African organisations; what inhibits, and what drives investment in IT security; what IT security activities are currently being outsourced and also what factors are important to organisations when choosing an IT security vendor.
"We are operating in a global village and information security attacks can come from anywhere in the world. Therefore, information security within organisations needs to be a boardroom topic and, because the threats change so frequently, companies need to be agile in implementing their defences," says Ruben Espinosa, regional marketing manager at RSA, commenting on the launch of the IT Security Survey.
Espinosa comments that many organisations seem to believe they have sufficient IT security in place, and that this is, more often than not, the case, as has been proven by the recent security breaches worldwide.
He goes on to say: "The reality is that hackers are well funded and staffed, with unlimited resources. The threats are therefore continuously evolving, and it is critical that organisations remain cognisant of the new forms of attack."
According to Espinosa, visibility is key as perimeters are no longer safe, and attackers are getting into organisations in many different ways.
"We need a holistic strategy to understand and know what is happening in our networks. This is done by having the right visibility and acting upon it. Companies are building bigger networks and using them to distribute more and more information. Protecting information floating across the network is a major challenge. It's vitally important to ensure that the critical information doesn't leave the organisation via e-mail, for example. I believe this aspect of information security will become even more of a key focus in the future," he says.
Legislation drives higher compliance levels
In terms of South African organisations, Espinosa believes that customer satisfaction and compliance are the overall factors driving investment in IT security.
"New legislation is driving higher levels of security compliance, and meeting those requirements is an effective, measurable way of implementing best practices in information security systems." Espinosa believes that organisations are failing to embark on sufficient IT risk evaluations and says many organisations seem to assume they have sufficient security.
This is not the case," he says, "risk evaluations should be undertaken on a regular basis, at least every 12 months, and preferably every six months."
"I believe this type of survey is important because it provides an accurate indication of the South African market from an information security perspective. It tells us where we are going, and what we need to be thinking about. The trends in South Africa could differ to those in the US or UK, so we need to know what's happening locally - in fact, it's the only way to plan ahead. Information security and the prevailing threats are constantly evolving, so organisations need to remain vigilant. This survey helps by providing insight into what to do next," Espinosa concludes.
Click here to complete the IT Security Survey and you could win a 16000mAh Power Bank with accessories.
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