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Ernst & Young has released its
for the year that was 2010, and the findings are clear, as IT Risk and Assurance Services Global Leader Paul van Kessel writes in his foreword to the 20-page report, that “the traditional boundaries of an organization are vanishing along with the traditional information security paradigm.”
To meet the changing nature of data protection, van Kessel suggests, “Information security programs must expand and adopt to meet the demands of new and existing enterprise in an evolving borderless world.”
When it comes to sensitive information, 60 percent of respondents said they perceive that the level of risk is going up, citing “use of social networking, cloud computing and personal devices in the enterprise.”
Similarly, the vast majority of survey respondents—64 percent—listed the disclosure of sensitive data as among their top five IT risks, while half said they anticipate spending more on preventing data losses in the next year.
About one third of respondents shared concerns about the use of social media and its potential risks.
“We believe this to be an indication that although most companies recognize the fact that there are risks and information security issues related to social media and Web 2.0, only a few have thoroughly examined the issue and developed an approach that will balance the business opportunity and the risk exposure,” the survey states.
Based on the responses received, emerging IT trends are not the focus when it comes to avoiding data breaches and keeping information secure.
However, the report suggests, “If no action is taken, this will likely lead to an increase in the disclosure of business information or protected privacy-related data, either intentionally or accidentally through the use of social media.”
This could lead to a domino effect, where the goals that survey respondents indicated as their primary focus—including complying with regulations and protecting both privacy and personal information, “could become increasingly difficult to achieve without an effective process in place to evaluate the risks associated with new and emerging IT trends.”
