InTouch : Brand Protection Top of Mind

Damage to brand and reputation from information security breaches is top of mind for New Zealand’s information security leaders, according to the 11th Ernst & Young Global Information Security Survey.
In significant shift from previous surveys, 85 percent of global respondents and 95 percent of New Zealand respondents cited damage to their organisation’s brand and reputation as the most significant impact of lost or compromised data following security breach.
In contrast, in 2007 just 24 percent of respondents globally cited reputational damage as factor driving their information security activities, and since 2005, the primary driver for information security has been to comply with regulations.
Forty-three major New Zealand organisations took part in the 2008 survey, which canvassed nearly 1400 senior executives in more than 50 countries.
Hamish Bowen, partner in technology and security risk services at Ernst & Young, sees the swing to protecting brand and reputation as return to security basics.
“Information security has now returned to an information protection theme – protecting assets and people. It is more than just about ticking regulatory and compliance boxes. The survey shows, in fact, that New Zealand executives are somewhat less likely to use information security as means of complying with regulations and corporate policies than their global counterparts.”
The use of third parties and outsourcers is on the increase and is much more prevalent in New Zealand than elsewhere, the survey shows. Organisations are taking some important steps to safeguard information, but there is room for improvement. Only 40 percent of the New Zealand respondents include specific information on security requirements in all of their contracts with third parties, and nearly half do not review or assess how contractors are protecting their information, compared with under third of respondents in other countries.
The survey also shows that, despite the economic downturn, the majority of organisations are set to increase or maintain their investment in information security. Just under half the New Zealand respondents plan to increase their annual investment in information security, in line with the global sample, and only seven percent are planning cost reductions.