Communications and Technology Industry Research

Venafi, the inventor of and market leader in Enterprise Key and Certificate Management (EKCM) solutions, revealed a report on the 2011 IT Security Best Practices Assessment. Echelon One, an IT security research leader specializing in security programs and guidance, helped Venafi in the research to evaluate 420 enterprises and government agencies.

“The assessment findings were startling. We suspected we would find that many organizations were challenged, but we had no idea that failure rates would run this high. The good news is that with this information and free self assessment, organizations can see where they rank in comparison to peers, and determine where weaknesses exist. They can identify steps to significantly reduce security and compliance risks by leveraging automated processes with multi-layered data security strategies, including managed encryption,” said Bob West, founder and CEO, Echelon One, in a release.

The 2011 IT Security Best Practices Assessment report revealed an epidemic of security worst practices, with a majority of organizations failing to adhere to simple data protection standards. It was also observed that many organizations are critically unaware of what security practices are currently in place.

The assessment evaluated where organizations rank in the implementation of 12 IT security and compliance best practices, ranging from how organizations leverage and manage encryption to how often they conduct security awareness and training programs. The report highlighted on top five best practices and their high failure rates along with recommendations to improve.

“The biggest security struggle organizations face today is managing the unknown -- a.k.a. the unquantified and unmanaged risks. Your best security assets can easily turn into liabilities if not managed properly. If this assessment demonstrates anything, it's that IT and security departments have got to gain greater visibility over all of their security and compliance activities, and take steps to better understand and manage them,” said Jeff Hudson, CEO, Venafi.

Venafi was recently in news when it announced the appointment of veteran customer services executive Dave Cutler (News - Alert) to the position of vice president, worldwide customer support. The appointment expands the breadth and depth of the Venafi executive team as the company rapidly expands its customer base and the geographies it serves. 

Sujata Garud is a TMCnet freelancer with three years of writing/editing experience and two years of market research experience. As an editor she has covered the IT, electronics, banking, pharma, construction, mining and healthcare industries. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.