Most businesses underestimate consequences of security breaches, fail to utilize cloud's potential
Security breaches are commonplace in the days of high technology—think Sony or Honda in recent times.
Canada's small and medium businesses know this. A recent study revealed that two-thirds of Canadian SMEs believe a threat exists to the security of their business' online information. The first problem is that most are complacement about it. The second problem is that most underestimate the consequences of not establishing safeguards.
Conducted by Environics Research, the 2011 Trend Micro Canada SME Survey shows SME views are divided about whether the threat arises from companies not taking the necessary precautions to protect their data (38%) or because existing software does not provide effective protection (33%). The remaining businesses surveyed say both are equally responsible, or are unsure.
SMEs also lacked an awareness of cloud computing in the study—and of those who had adopted its technology in some manner, did so for reasons such as time and money savings. They didn't do it to increase security, nor did they understand the security risks of doing it. Only in in three had even heard the term "cloud computing"—however, when given a definition of the term, one in two then claimed they were aware of the concept. Just on quarter of Canadian SMEs declared that they were very familiar with the cloud.
"Technology companies need to continuously help businesses owners understand that Internet security is more than an insurance policy to protect important business and consumer information," said Ian Gordon, Trend Micro Canada's marketing and channel chief. "Insurance helps your business after something goes wrong but choosing good security software protects your business data before something happens."
As is human nature, companies felt more confident about their own company than about others', with more believing that their personal IT security was adequate or even state-of-the-art, but worried for everyone else.
Fortunately, just 12 percent of SMEs in Canada have actually fallen victim to an internet security breach.
