[ISN] We're winning the war against hackers

[InfoSec News]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/20/cisco_security_survey/

By John Leyden
20th April 2006 

Despite the apparent growth in security incidents and hacker attacks 
over recent years, a clear majority (72 per cent) of UK security 
professionals feel their organisation is more secure than it was 12 
months ago.

Organisations are no longer on the back foot in the fight against 
security threats, with only 11 per cent of respondents in a survey of 
100 chief security officers (CSOs) and IT directors saying they take a 
'reactive only' approach to security.

More firms are putting in place contingency plans to ensure they can 
continue to operate in spite of evolving digital and physical threats, 
the Cisco-sponsored poll found. Survey respondents have contingency 
plans in place for power failure (96 per cent), fire (95 per cent), 
loss of data (93 per cent), physical access to buildings (86 per 
cent), and flooding (80 per cent).

IT pros have long complained that management frequently fails to 
understand the importance of their work. This may be changing, as the 
survey, which was conducted by market research outfit Vanson Borne on 
behalf of Cisco, found that only 23 per cent of respondents felt that 
security is still not recognised as a boardroom level issue.

Firms are also making progress in educating staff on security issues. 
The majority of respondents have extensive IT security training in 
place, such as acceptable usage policies (92 per cent), email usage 
policies (85 per cent), password policies (81 per cent), and training 
in the need for backups (59 per cent).

"It is very encouraging to see that, despite ongoing reports of new 
threats and breaches, businesses across all sectors are feeling better 
protected," Cisco Systems senior security advisor Paul King said.

"Businesses have recognised the importance of implementing 
comprehensive security strategies and are beginning to anticipate what 
might be around the corner." ®