IT Professionals Fear Security Breaches and Loss of Jobs

By Narayan Bhat

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

A majority of professionals in IT companies are scared that they might lose their jobs if security was breached at their workplace, reports market research firm King Research, whose survey results was revealed by KACE, a provider of systems management and deployment appliances for Fortune 100,000 companies.

 

 According to the survey, even mid-sized companies are worried of suffering a similar fate.

 

At the center of the worry, is the feeling amongst professionals, who think they are ill-prepared to protect their systems from a possible attempt of breach. Today, many may have a security cover but don’t trust it, the survey found.

 

The survey, aimed at gathering data on IT professionals' approach to unifying systems and security management, identifying the types of management tools that companies use, and, finally,  measuring  their current state of security readiness.

In a majority of Fortune 100,000 companies, the survey revealed, security has never been a top priority.

Although 81 percent included patch management as part of their security strategy, only 35 percent of responding participants included end-node (desk-top and lap-top) vulnerability scanning.

Well over 256 professionals responded to the survey, among them, 156 were from Fortune 100,000 organizations.

Today the threat of a security breach has left IT companies in a constant worry.

 "IT departments around the globe are working endlessly to combat and minimize security issues," said Diane Hagglund of King Research.

"These organizations have employed a variety of tools to safeguard themselves, but the measures are not completely foolproof."

 A few IT professionals, particularly from the mid-market sector, feel they are well equipped to deal with the threat, but a majority of them remain worried.

Vendors such as KACE address key challenges by bringing in IT automation at an affordable cost.

 

 While 87 percent of IT organizations have trust in their ability to deal with viruses, spam, spyware, and malware, only 35 percent feel they are equipped to deal with lost corporate or personal data.

What is most surprising from the surveys findings is that 62 percent of participants, who are personally responsible for IT security, say the very responsibility affects their personal lives.


 "The results are in and they prove that IT professionals from Fortune 100,000 companies are not confident with their present security measures, and are taking the stress home and to their personal lives," said Rob Meinhardt, CEO of KACE.