Reputed marketing firm IDC (India) Ltd has come out with a survey whose results should serve as an eye opener for all enterprises. The survey was commissioned by security solutions provider Symantec India.

The survey reveals that:

1. About 80 per cent of Indian enterprises have agreed that loss or theft of critical data is a serious information security risk they face after threats from viruses and hackers
2. 16 per cent of the enterprises admitted to have lost data in the recent past for various reasons, including unaware users, malicious insiders and external threats from hackers and cyber-criminals
3. About 60 per cent of employees who recently changed jobs reported taking confidential data from their previous employer. This included customer lists, employee records, non-financial information. The top three ways data is lost are through CDs,DVDs and USB drives.

What are the causes?

The survey results once again lend credence to the belief that a good proportion of the cyber threats are being caused by the insiders of the enterprises - either disgruntled staff or greedy techies or sacked employees. 

It is also increasingly becoming clear that stolen identities could be serving as the ‘hacking channel’ for many cyber-crimes and improper management of the administrative passwords could potentially remain at the root of a good number of security threats. Many security breaches might stem from lack of adequate password management policies and internal controls.

How do we avoid cyber threats?

Not all security incidents could be prevented or avoided; But, the security incidents that happen due to lack of effective internal controls are indeed preventable. Enterprises should take preventive action to combat cyber-criminals and to ensure information security.

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Details of the survey as published in the media..

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