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Significant Threats to Data Security Lurk Within, Professionals SayAccording to a recent investigative report on data breaches1, an estimated $400 million has been lost from a predicted 700 million compromised records in 2015. So which security controls are the most important in thwarting cyber crime against businesses? Anti-malware? Physical security? Believe it or not, according to a recent survey, PEOPLE are a main concern. When recently asked about what security controls should be used to protect businesses from cyber threats, the First Advantage 2015 Cybersecurity Survey of business professionals placed employee background screening at the top of the list, even above the use of anti-malware programs and physical security. The survey, from global background screening firm First Advantage, a Symphony Technology Group company, polled a variety of professionals including human resources, risk management and C-suite executives about their attitudes toward internal and external security threats. Sixty percent of respondents said employee background screening is the most important security control that can be put in place to protect organizations. Anti-malware was ranked second, favored by 53 percent. Physical security and physical access controls ranked third at 39 percent. When asked about the importance of background screening of new employees in preventing security risks, 98 percent agreed that it was at least "somewhat important". In fact, 57 percent said it is "extremely important" to do background checks. Not only were background checks of new employees deemed highly essential, but the process of doing background checks periodically on existing employees also received high marks. Thirty-five percent said the process is "somewhat important," 17 percent chose "very important" and 19 percent said that employee rescreening is "extremely important." Yet despite the priority that rescreening employee backgrounds seems to have, when asked how often employees are rescreened, a clear majority (61 percent) said that the practice is never done at their workplace. By comparison, just 13 percent of respondents rescreen annually. Ten percent do so every other year. "The lack of ongoing, periodic background screening of existing employees that occurs is in stark contrast to its recognized importance by the same organizations," said Mark Silver, chief security offier at First Advantage. "The fact is that an initial background check does not protect an organization in perpetuity. In order to better protect against potential insider-driven breaches, periodic rescreening should be done. Fortunately, technology now allows for groups of employees to be rescreened at once - for a fraction of the cost of the original background check." Other Findings
First Advantage is preparing to host a live webinar on October 8 about the survey findings and how companies can protect their data from insider threats. Registration is free and can be done here.
Survey Methodology
About First Advantage
About Symphony Technology Group 1 Verizon (News - Alert) 2015 Data Breach Investigation Report View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150915006050/en/ |