Business Services Industry

DTI survey finds British industry vulnerable to information security breaches

Internet Business News, April, 2000

New research conducted by the British Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reveals that 60% of companies taking part in the survey have suffered an information security breach in the last two years.

Furthermore, 64% of companies who experienced a serious breach admitted that 'nothing has changed' since it occurred, despite the cost of the reported breaches ranging from GBP20,000 to over GBP100,000. More than a third (40%) said the security breaches were due to user error.

The survey reveals a predictable - if slow - move towards Internet trading for British industry, with one in three organisations either already buying or selling over the Internet or intending to start in the near future. However, an astonishing 82% of businesses with external electronic links said they do not currently employ any firewall protection and 59% do not use website protection.

More than half of the organisations who reported experiencing a serious breach do not believe that anything could have been done to prevent it, yet only one in seven organisations has a formal information management security policy in place.

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