By Computerworld Hong Kong Staff
Asian firms, especially India-based ones, have greatly improved their information security practices, now being on par with or surpassing many of North American businesses, according to media reports on a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, CIO, and CSO magazines.
The three organizations polled more than 7,000 IT execs from 119 countries from March to June on the challenges of safeguarding corporate information assets.
"Companies in India have reported strong, consistent, double-digit gains across virtually every security domain and have taken a strategic approach to security," said Mark Lobel of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"Security efforts of Indian organizations have surpassed those of firms in the US and we expect this trend to continue," he added.
Results of the survey, dubbed The Global State of Information Security Survey 2008, also indicated that more firms encrypt databases (55 percent), laptops (50 percent), backup tapes (47 percent) and other media.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they were implementing an overall information security strategy that comprises increased use of intrusion detection software, firewalls and disposal of outdated hardware.
Seventy-four percent of respondents said information security spending will either increase or stay the same over the next 12 months.
Asian firms improve security practices
