Security spending on the up, says Forrester

Added by The Editor, 12 months ago.

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More than half (55 per cent) of IT security directors plan to increase their budgets in the coming year, according to a survey released today by IT analyst company Forrester Research.

The additional spending reflects a shift in practices when it comes to addressing IT vulnerabilities, according to Forrester analyst Bill Nagel.

"Security is moving away from a reactive discipline to various technological threats to a more rational process of being able to proactively manage risk," he said.

The report points to the regulatory environment as the trigger for this shift, as security directors weigh up the risks of compliance and explain them to the board.

"The security director not only has to adapt to being more business focused but he has to jump up and down and point out that security has to be baked into IT systems and business processes," said Nagel. The best way to do this, he added, is to highlight the damage to corporate reputation that a security lapse could cause.

Our take: Security is not just a technical issue - it needs to be taken seriously by everyone in an organisation, from the board of directors to the individual password holder. IT has a huge role to play in explaining the importance of security awareness, and outlining best practice, in terms everyone can understand.