EMBARGO: 1PM, 17 March
Concerns over cybersecurity and risk are holding back two-thirds of British companies, according to research from the security vendor Blue Coat.
A survey commissioned by the company showed that the UK was more wary of risks because of fears over IT security than its neighbours Germany and France, in part because of a culture of IT holding back risk assessment.
Robert Arandjelovic, EMEA director of products at Blue Coat, said: "The sense you get is we’re dealing with a market where people recognise there is a problem but they don’t know what that problem is.
"Businesses instinctively know success comes from risk taking, but today IT security often holds many back."
He added that the problem was connected to a historic estrangement between the IT departments and the rest of the business.
"What’s been a positive in the cybersecurity business this seeing how critical IT is for the organisation," he said. "Because having the IT department [out of action] people have to realise how integral it is."
The study also found that security concerns generated by the media are a greater motivator of the security agenda than data breaches.
Almost two-thirds of firms cited high profile breaches, such as the ones against Target, Home Depot and eBay, as a driver for the importance of cybersecurity in their firms, compared to just under a third citing internal data breaches.
Arandjelovic said even though it was possible to overstate the importance of big attacks, "the reality is these are catastrophic events".
