Every year (for the past six), CSO magazine puts out its annual report on the global state of information security. For anyone that tracks this most important trend in our industry--and still highest on the customer's mind--this is a great report.
The new 2008 report finds that respondents are throwing more money at security challenges. The report noted that security budgets are averaging $1.7 million. Of those surveyed, an optimistic 44 percent said their InfoSec spending would increase this year, while 4 percent expected a decrease.
Where will the money go? Top priorities in the coming year include hiring information security consultants and hiring a chief information security officer. Respondents also plan to develop security procedures for handheld devices and create an identity management strategy. They expect to invest in technologies, including biometrics, to tighten access to sensitive data, as well as in data-leakage prevention and security event correlation tools to start analyzing what works and what doesn't on which kinds of security problems.
I have spoken several times this year on security in the mobile workspace environment. Look for a new ExperTech on the topic next year.
For other references about security on our website, see the links below.
- Security References Tech Topic page, focusing on PCI, including a five-part series of podcasts
- One of the more than 80 references on blog about security