According to a recent survey from consulting firm Protiviti, companies are turning more attention to their security policies to prevent a cyber attack.
The survey also found plenty of room for improvement exists in most businesses.
According to the study, 68 percent of the companies surveyed reported they have recently changed their focus to devote more resources to information security because of the press coverage of cyber warfare and digital security issues, many of which were highlighted by the recent Reuters Cybersecurity Summit.
However, the data also uncovered that 22 percent of companies do not have a written information security policy and that nearly a third of the businesses do not have a data encryption policy. When it came to classifying data into key categories like sensitive, confidential or public, only 63 percent of companies said they had a system in place for categorizing information.
For smaller companies that have little experience in data security and need a place to begin, Protiviti offers a Benchmark tool that allows businesses to compare their current security strategies to the standards and practices prevalent in a particular industry.
While the report showed that year-over-year improvement did occur when it came to creating data classification policies, and noted that CIOs were taking a larger role in business operations, the survey still highlighted key gaps between necessary data security and current company efforts to prevent cyber attack dangers.
While these gaps could spell trouble if companies are the subjects of data theft, they also create opportunities for universities and graduates with the necessary IT experience to turn company strategies around. Protiviti itself offers professionals the ability to earn continuing professional education credits with events on data auditing and security testing, among other options.
Colleges like Champlain College of Vermont are also taking the necessary steps to equip new workers with these high-value skills. Champlain recently won the 2013 SC Magazine Award for professional leadership in the information technology security field. A panel of security professionals picked Champlain because of its combination of both on-campus and online programs, which included more than 35 computer forensics courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
Champlain has taken several unique steps in its cybersecurity courses, such as dividing topics into multiple classes based on devices (one for mobile devices, one for network devices and so forth). The college also allows higher-level students to participate in real-world cybersecurity investigations to gain hands-on experiences.
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