CDW: Data loss top cybersecurity priority for IT pros
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The report, entitled “Data Loss Straw Poll,” surveyed 654 IT professionals about data loss and what keeps them up at night. There were 151 healthcare respondents in the group.
Concern about data loss is well founded: One in four organizations has experienced a data loss in the last two years wherein that same time period the number of people accessing organizational networks has increased an average of 41 percent. Many organizations reported breaches jeopardizing their network, email or other sensitive information, the Vernon Hills, Ill.-based CDW found.
Eighteen percent stated they believe malicious attacks will pose the greatest business risk to their organization over the next year. Fifty percent believe personally identifiable data is the top target for cyber attacks, followed by “customer, student or patient credit card information” (19 percent).
While most organizations allow employees to access their networks with personal mobile devices, security policies for employee-owned devices are often less strict than for employer-owned devices. Thirty-one percent of respondents stated policies for employee-owned devices are more strict while 42 percent stated policies were less strict. Twenty-seven percent of IT professionals said they do not have security policies for employee-owned mobile devices.
For the healthcare respondents, 71 percent stated their data security policy is effective. Also, 57 percent stated security policies for employee- and employer-owned mobile devices are uniformly deployed and 66 percent have defined security procedures for employee-owned smartphones. Among respondent group, the healthcare respondents were in the middle of restlessness, followed by medium business and higher education.