Corporations spend on cybersecurity; consumer trust remains at risk
Posted on | June 11, 2010 | add a comment
Spending on tech security by big corporations appears to be bouncing back in 2010, following a year of belt-tightening. But the uptick probably won’t be any where near enough to harden corporate defenses against increasingly aggressive cybercriminal attacks. Hanging in the balance is a potential loss of consumer confidence in digital services.
Those are the big takeaways from tech security reports issued by consulting giants Deloitte & Touche and Booze & Company, respectively.
“If companies do not adequately protect the data that their customers entrust them with, particularly sensitive data such as financial or health data, we believe they risk the loss of customer trust,” says Irfan Saif, head of Deloitte’s security and privacy services arm.
Events like the recent theft of 114,000 e-mail addresses of high-profile iPad users underscore Saif’s assertion. Negative publicity can result in the loss of existing customers to competitors, invite scrutiny from regulators and tarnish brand reputation, says Saif.
This message is getting through to some corporations. Deloitte’s annual survey of 150 technology, media and telecommunications firms revealed:
- 36% of the survey respondents increased their tech security budget by up to 10 percent this year.
- 23 % reduced security spending, down from 32 percent in 2009.
- 80% regard digital content as a primary asset that falls within the purview of the information security executive.
- 30% regard the increasing sophistication of threats as a major barrier to ensuring effective information security.
Booz’s “Digital Confidence” report focuses on trends in Europe’s corporate sector. Booz estimates that $167 billion in European economic activity could be “at risk” between now and 2012 if consumer trust in digital services doesn’t improve.
“To date there is a clear lack of coherence and common focus, as most (security) actions are ad hoc, having been triggered by high-profile incidents of trust or security breaches and political pressures,” says the Booz report. “Legislation alone cannot keep up with the speed and scope of challenges in this market. Hence, successful companies do more than just comply with legislation; they stay ahead of the curve by adopting proactive policies and practices to drive Digital Confidence.”
By Byron Acohido