Staff unaware of IT security threats

Staff are ignorant about IT security threats, leaving organisations vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated computer viruses and worms, research warns.

A survey of 1,233 private and public sector organisations by professional services firm Ernst & Young shows that a lack of education for staff on the basics of IT is the main gap in organisations' security policies.

Despite 91 per cent of respondents saying that IT security was very important, only 28 per cent cited the need to better educate and train their staff on IT security as a top initiative. 

This might be due to the fact that only 20 per cent of the respondents said that IT security was perceived as a priority by their chief executive officer.

Jan Babiak, managing partner of Ernst & Young's Information Security Services, said : "Senior management does not recognise the importance of information security. Persistent gaps continue to exist in security awareness and training.” 

By Hannah Moffatt