Ponemon Institute Releases Research Findings on Digital Defense Security Training

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Defense, Inc. (DDI), a leading provider of managed security risk assessment solutions has released the final report of a commissioned study, Experimental Analysis of SecurED Training Effectiveness that evaluates the efficacy of SecurED^®, the company's security awareness education product.  The report follows the August release of the study's Executive Summary and includes deeper context surrounding the findings. 

In addition to the previously reported results that reflected a long-term gain of 60% for SecurED subjects, key outcomes include:

• All three SecurED training modules tested in the study held consistency positive results. With respect to quiz performance, subjects on average scored above an 80 percent correct response rate.
• 88% of subjects perceive SecurED as enjoyable and worthwhile.
• A majority of subjects believe security training should be rolled out top down rather than bottom up, indicating that senior executives taking the time to do security training is helpful in demonstrating the importance of information risk management.

"Employees who do not understand their responsibility in safeguarding confidential and sensitive information are putting their company at great risk," said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of Ponemon Institute. "As revealed in this research, quality security training programs that are relevant and engaging can make a tremendous difference in reducing the threat and likelihood of a data breach."

The research sample included 277 participants with good representation across multiple sectors including financial services, consumer products, healthcare, energy, media, hospitality and education.  Additionally, the report contains valuable information specific to results by gender, age, employee role, industry and more.

Larry Hurtado, DDI President & CEO, states, "This research has been extremely valuable in not only quantifying the effectiveness of the SecurED program, but providing crucial information that is guiding development efforts as we evolve and expand our training offerings.  One of the findings surrounding the roll-out of a training program from the top-down has been instrumental in the refinement of DDI's Cyber Crime Prevention & Safety Program (CCPSP).  A fully managed and integrated security campaign, CCPSP brings together SecurED's cutting edge security content with an innovative campaign management process designed to effectively educate employees and mitigate potential breaches.  The Ponemon study insight helped guide the positioning and messaging created for the CCPSP campaign components."

About Ponemon Institute
Ponemon Institute was founded in 2002 by Dr. Larry Ponemon. Headquartered in Michigan, Ponemon Institute is considered the pre-eminent research center dedicated to privacy, data protection and information security policy. The Institute's annual consumer studies on privacy trust are widely quoted in the media and research quantifying the cost of a data breach has become valuable to organizations seeking to understand the business impact of lost or stolen data. Ponemon Institute is the parent organization of the Responsible Information Management Council. The RIM Council has members from leading multinational corporations and focuses on the development and execution of ethical principles for the collection and use of personal, sensitive, or confidential information. The RIM Council enables both seasoned privacy practitioners and those new to the profession to network and learn how to be as successful as possible in their organizations in both the private and public sectors.  http://www.ponemon.org/

About Digital Defense
Founded in 1999, Digital Defense, Inc. (DDI) is the premier provider of managed security risk assessment solutions protecting billions in assets for small businesses to Fortune companies in over 65 countries. DDI's dedicated team of experts helps organizations establish a culture of security through regular information security assessments, awareness education and decisive security intelligence. This proven method bolsters the capability of organizations to reduce risk and keep information, intellectual property and reputations secure. The combination of DDI's certified security analysts, patent-pending scanning technology and proprietary cloud-based vulnerability management system, the Frontline™ Solutions Platform, delivers one of the most powerful assessment results and remediation management solutions available. Contact DDI at 888-273-1412 or www.ddifrontline.com.

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SOURCE Digital Defense, Inc.