Web Security News

War of views: IT vs. security

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

A survey has emerged suggesting there are differing views between two internal business groups about the threat level of crybercrime to companies.

The Ponemon Institute's 2008 Security Mega Trends Survey found the biggest worry for IT managers was outsourcing risks, DarkReading.com reports. For security, it was data breaches and cybercrime.

In terms of future attacks, 77 percent on the security side said cyberattacks would be a high risk to companies in the next 12 to 24 months, while 49 percent of the IT side saw it as future problem.

However, one of the bigger disconnects between the two factions was defining past cyberattacks, according to the website. Approximately 92 percent of security claimed their organization suffered a cyberattack while 55 percent of IT said the same.

Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute, told DarkReading the key for the two groups was to find common ground so they could "wage this security battle together."

News of this follows a Carnegie Mellon University survey that found only a third of board directors were involved with managing security and cyber risks.

The scale may be leaning a bit more on the security side, since 2008 saw cybercriminals evolve their strategies for more innovative attacks.