Almost two-thirds (64%) of Western European organisations say the potential loss of reputation and customer confidence is their biggest concern following data security breaches. According to a report from Level 3 Communications, Inc. and IDG Connect, which offers business intelligence, another key finding points to the growing volume, diversity and sophistication of malware attacks as the main factor changing data security priorities (58% of respondents).
The report is based on interviews of 274 senior staff working for organisations headquartered in the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium to assess their plans for digital transformation over the next two years. Around one-third of those surveyed were employed in board level positions, including chief information officers (CIO), chief technology offers (CTO) and chief security officers (CSO).
Key findings from the survey:
- Loss of reputation and customer confidence is the biggest data security concern within organisations:
- Potential loss of reputation/customer confidence - 64%
- Current data security cannot prevent all attacks - 58%
- Disruption to business operations - 57%
- Maintaining effective security provision - 54%
- Cost of security incident clean-up operations - 52%
- Compliance with industry / government regulation - 47%
- Factors likely to change the priority for data security:
- Growing volume and diversity of malware - 58%
- More use of mobile devices - 57%
- Potential damage to brand / reputation - 57%
- Greater reliance on the cloud - 53%
- Expanding locations and headcount - 52%
- Larger fines issued by industry regulators - 43%
Kathy Schneider, SVP Marketing and Product EMEA, Level 3 Communications, said:
“Reputation is often a key consideration for customers and it is therefore crucial that organisations protect their reputation and data integrity by adopting robust security measures.
A company’s data is one of the most valuable things it owns and recent security breaches are highlighting this fact. CIOs should ensure they work with a trusted partner when formulating security strategies. In today’s connected world, data breaches are growing more common and companies simply cannot afford to be caught off-guard.”
