Majority of Organizations View Biggest Data Leakage Threat as Internal

New IDC Survey Commissioned by Dimension Data Finds 57% of Companies Plan to Invest in Data Loss Prevention Technology, but 85% Believe Data Loss by External Hackers is Unlikely

NEW YORK, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Dimension Data, a global IT solutions and services provider, today announced the results of a new IT security survey -- conducted by market research firm IDC -- which revealed that most organizations are placing investment in Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technology at the top of their priority list. While 57% of the companies polled said they plan to invest in DLP technology, three times the number of respondents said they believe data leakage is more likely to occur through accidental employee error (45%) than by external hackers with malicious intent (15%.)

A majority of respondents (85%) said they thought data loss through external hacking was "very unlikely", and 55% perceived intentional external data loss as having only "moderate impact" or "no impact at all" on their business. Additionally, more than 60% said they believe they are unlikely to be affected by virus attacks.

"The challenge when protecting an organization from internal data loss is that traditional defenses are designed to face outward, at the perimeter of a network, whereas the inside of the network remains relatively free of security controls. Compounding the problem, security awareness training initiatives for employees often go unfunded because organizations find it difficult to demonstrate a return on investment for such training," said Neil Campbell, global general manager, Security Solutions, Dimension Data. "To tackle these challenges, companies are moving toward DLP as it involves a holistic approach to the protection of information, rather than simply the protection of networks and systems. It creates automated, technical barriers to both human error and malicious intent."

The IDC research, commissioned by Dimension Data, surveyed IT security decision makers at more than 400 organizations, with at least 500 employees each, across 18 countries in the Americas, Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. Other key survey results include:

• Compliance variations. The research revealed that large organizations with more than 1,000 employees tended to be more compliant than smaller companies. In addition, companies in the Americas and in the public sector were more concerned about IT security regulations than those in other regions and industries.
• IT security spending. The survey found that from 2008 to 2009, 19% of the companies surveyed increased their overall IT spending while 41% decreased it, mainly due to the economic downturn. However, for nearly 60% of the organizations, the average spend on IT security within the overall IT budget remained at 10% or more.
• Shift to holistic approach. The surveyed companies appear to be shifting their investment focus away from point solutions to a more holistic approach, with 59% planning to invest in IT security audits and 52% in consulting services. This indicates a growing realization that reacting to security incidents, and ad-hoc acquisition of point technologies without regard to how they dovetail with others, is more costly and less effective than planning an integrated strategy.
  

About Dimension Data

Dimension Data (LSE: DDT), a specialist IT services and solutions provider, helps clients plan, build, support and manage their network and IT infrastructures. Dimension Data applies its expertise in networking, security, operating environments, storage and contact center technologies and its unique skills in consulting, integration and managed services to create customized client services. For more information: Call 866-DIDATA-US or visit www.dimensiondata.com/na.

    Media Contacts:
    Lisa Grimes                         Mariah Torpey
    Dimension Data                      Davies Murphy Group
    (703) 217-2692                      (781) 418-2404
    lisa.grimes@us.didata.com           ddna@daviesmurphy.com

SOURCE Dimension Data