High-Tech Firms Fall Short on Security

You'd think they'd be ahead of the curve, given their lines of business. But many technology, media, and telecommunications companies are not eating their own security dog food, according to a study published earlier today.

According to the study, conducted by Deloitte & Touche, some 46 percent of high-tech companies surveyed do not have a formal information security strategy in place. Despite this lack of strategy, however, 69 percent report they are "very confident" or "extremely confident" about their organization’s effectiveness at tackling external security challenges.

This confidence is surprising, given the rest of the survey results. Just 7 percent of high-tech companies believe they are prepared for future security threats. In the past year, only 5 percent of the respondents had increased their security investment by 15 percent or more.

Only 38 percent of companies believe their organizations have all the skills and capabilities they need to respond effectively and efficiently to security challenges. Just 56 percent feel confident in their company's ability to handle employee misconduct and insider threats. Some 38 percent said they don't believe security is an imperative at the executive or board level, Deloitte said.

"The technology, media & entertainment and telecommunications industries are still in a reactive mode when it comes to their approach to security," said Rena Mears, Deloitte global and U.S. privacy and data protection leader.

— Tim Wilson, Site Editor, Dark Reading