Getting Security On Board
The year 2014 wasn't a banner year for security as many organizations grappled with thefts, vulnerabilities, and hacks. Though security threats are looming large, awareness hasn't seeped in yet and the discussions around security haven't elevated to the boards of organizations across the globe. But the Indian security scenario has something to cheer about as the board of directors in India are more active participants in security decisions of their organizations than their global counterparts.
A study on security practices, Global Information Security Survey 2015, reveals that 57 percent of Indian respondents say their organizations' board of directors participate in deciding the overall security strategy compared to 42 percent globally. Forty-nine percent of Indian respondents say their board is involved in allocating security budgets as compared to the global number of 40 percent.
Security policies are another major component and 52 percent of Indian respondents said the board is involved in framing security policies compared to 36 percent of their global counterparts.
The review of current security and privacy risks is essential for information security to be effective. Less than half of the respondents, Indian and global, gave an affirmation to the boards' involvement in the review of current security and privacy risks. Only 25 percent of global respondents said their boards are involved in security reviews, while the Indian figure stood at 39 percent.
The survey also found that in the financial services vertical in the APAC region, 62 percent of the respondents said the board participated in decisions regarding security budgets and 64 percent said the board made its presence felt in overall security strategy.
But the figures for board participation in the technology sector aren't all that impressive. Only 38 percent of respondents in the APAC region said their boards participated in decisions around security technologies and 31 percent in the review of current security and privacy risks.