IDC Report: DLP, Security Consulting Spend on the Horizon

More than half of companies worldwide report that they are planning to invest in DLP technology, according to a new report released yesterday.

Sponsored by Dimension Data and conducted by researchers by IDC, the survey of more than 400 IT security decision makers found that internal data leak concerns were more top of mind than external hacking risks.

The survey reported that 45 percent of security pros were concerned about data leakage through accidental employee error, versus only 15 percent who considered external hackers with malicious intent as a big data leak threat. The other 85 percent of survey respondents actually believed that it was very unlikely that they would experience data loss through external hacking. Approximately 60 percent of those surveyed reported that from a data leak perspective they were unlikely to be affected by virus attacks.

These survey numbers show that the idea that security needs to reach inside the perimeter may have finally penetrated the consciousness of core security users.

“"The challenge when protecting an organization from internal data loss is that traditional defenses are designed to face outward, at the perimeter of a network, whereas the inside of the network remains relatively free of security controls,” Neil Campbell, global general manager of security solutions for Dimension Data, said in a statement on the release of survey data.

Even in these dismal economic conditions, IT departments are still spending on security, the report found. Approximately 19 percent of those surveyed reported that they actually increased security spend this year, while an additional 40 said their security budget remained the same.

Channel partners will increasingly get a crack at these security dollars if they play their cards right. Approximately 59 percent of those surveyed said they are planning to invest in IT security audits. And approximately 52 percent of respondents said their future plans include the purchase of security consulting services.

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