Key findings
Key Findings
A game of confidence: Organizations assess their security practices
- Good self-assessments continue this year, with a substantial number of respondents saying their organizations exhibit the attributes of information security leaders.
- Confidence runs deep. Most respondents believe their organizations have instilled effective information security behaviors into organizational culture.
- Good behaviors lead to good outcomes, so it’s not surprising that most respondents say their information security activities are effective—although they may not realize that confidence in this area has waned over the years.
A game of risk: The decline of capabilities over time
- The economic environment ranks first among the multiple factors shaping security budgets, with information security concerns lying far down the list.
- As mobile devices, social media, and the cloud become commonplace both inside the enterprise and out, technology adoption is moving faster than security.
- Safeguarding information is easier when you know where that information is. Most organizations, however, are keeping looser tabs on their data now than they did in years past.
It’s how you play the game: Alignment, leadership, and training are key
- A focus on business success should inform all aspects of the organization’s activities. Most respondents say security strategies and security spending are aligned with business goals.
- An effective coach is key to a winning team. Respondents say executives still have work to do in demonstrating their leadership in security strategy. Security leaders, meanwhile, still lack adequate access to the executive suite.
- People who don’t know how to do things rarely do them well, which makes the lack of staff and resources available for security training a significant problem.
The new world order: Asia advances, South America makes its move, and other regions try to maintain
- Years of investment pay off as Asia leads the world in security practices and performance.
- Security budgets are almost flat in North America, but certain strategies show gains.
- As spending stalls in Europe and safeguards weaken, some security practices are improving.
- South America plays catch-up on security investments and emerges as a leader in some important categories.
