Peter Dinham
Tuesday, 12 May 2009 11:10
Business IT -
Security
Page 2 of 3
“Despite the majority of survey respondents understanding
the security risks they face, some are neglecting basic safeguards. For
example, approximately two out of every five (43 percent) respondents
have not implemented endpoint protection (software that protects
'endpoints' such as laptops, desktops and servers against malware).
“Forty-three percent of SMBs do not have an
antispam solution. Almost half (45 percent) do not backup their desktop
PCs, leaving their important information at risk in the event of an
incident. Finally, more than one-third (39 percent) of SMBs do not have
antivirus protection.”
Scroggie also said that 46 percent of SMBs don’t have dedicated IT
staff, and they either have no one managing their computers or they use
staff that also have other jobs.
“In fact, the leading barrier to security cited by SMBs was a lack of
employee skills (40 percent), lack of time (38 percent) and budget
restrictions (37 percent). SMBs also mention a lack of awareness of
current threats (31 percent) as another factor.”
Steve Martin, SMB director, Pacific region, for Symantec said that
while SMBs “clearly appreciate the importance of security, they face
many barriers when strengthening their IT security infrastructure.”
“For many companies, the issue of strengthening their IT security
infrastructure is compounded not only by the challenges of staffing,
budget and time, but also by trying to keep up with the growing amount
of information that now resides on mobile devices such as laptops, PDAs
and smartphones as well as external storage devices such as USB keys.”
Citing the old adage that prevention is better than cure, Symantec says
that, according to the study, when SMBs do suffer IT data loss, it is
likely to be in an area where basic protection and preventative
measures would have alleviated the issue.
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