Improve Your Security, Minister Tells Major Firms

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Large companies need to do more to make their data safe, science minister David Willetts has said.

A new survey by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills found FTSE 350 firms are persistently falling short on information security, with only 14 per cent giving regular thought to cyber threats and many not receiving regular intelligence updates about cyber criminal activity.

Despite this, 62 per cent believe their boards are taking the issue seriously and 60 per cent recognise what their key assets and information are.

Other findings in the study, which was carried out anonymously, showed 56 per cent have cyber on the risk register, but only 39 per cent had made use of the government's ten-step cyber security guidance, only 25 per cent thought cyber crime to be a leading risk to them and just 17 per cent have set out what they consider to be an acceptable level of cyber risk.

Mr Willets commented: "The cyber crime threat facing UK companies is increasing. Many are already taking this extremely seriously, but more still needs to be done.

"We are working with businesses to encourage them to make cyber security a board-level responsibility."

The minister revealed that a kitemark-style cyber standard will be established early next year, having been developed with industry. It will form part of the £860 million cross-government National Cyber Security Programme.

Mr Willets explained: "The cyber standard will promote excellence in tackling cyber risks, help businesses better understand how to protect themselves, and ultimately increase the nation’s collective cyber security."

Another measure will be for one of the six largest audit firms to provide assistance to each of the companies that responded to the survey to bolster their data protection measures, with the approach tailored to each organisation's needs based on the responses it gave.

It is not just large enterprises that are falling short on cyber security, according to a recent survey by internet and mobile security company AVG Technologies.

The firm found small and medium enterprises in the UK and in North America were often mixing up their priorities, with over a fifth of firms on both sides of the Atlantic spending more time ordering new business cards than taking steps to improve their data protection.

Storetec News/Blogs."http://www.storetec.net/news-blog/-improve-your-security-minister-tells-major-firms/". Improve your security, minister tells major firms. November 27, 2013. Storetec.