IT Pros on Security: The Good, Bad and Scary

Many IT and security professionals express confidence about the results of their efforts to improve their firms' cyber-security over the past three years, but more than seven in 10 said the threat level of attacks is escalating, according to a recent survey, released by The Aspen Institute and Intel Security. The study, conducted by Vanson Bourne, is based on interviews with 625 IT and security professionals at critical infrastructure organizations, including finance, energy, transport and government in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Nearly half the respondents believe a cyber-attack will take down critical infrastructure with the potential loss of life within the next three years. Yet the majority believes an attack resulting in fatalities has not happened yet because good IT security is in place. These and other findings suggest a potential disconnect between critical infrastructure providers and the current threat landscape, reports Aspen. Here are 12 key takeaways from the study.