Employees believe IT security stifling innovation - Cisco

Almost 70 per cent of workers are not aware of recent high-profile security breaches such as Heartbleed, according to Cisco.

A survey of 12,000 employees conducted by Cisco across 13 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Russia, found 69 per cent were not aware of recent high-profile hackings.

More than half of employees (52 per cent) said they believe employee behaviour is one of the top two biggest threats to data security – second only to cybercrime at 60 per cent. The survey also found 58 per cent of workers believe their company has an IT security policy while 23 per cent don’t know.

Outmoded approaches to security are inhibiting working patterns and stifling innovation, according to the survey, which shows 31 per cent of employees believe IT security is stifling innovation and making it harder to do their job.

Terry Greer-King, director of cyber security at Cisco UK and Ireland, said most employees recognise the threat from cybercriminals, but that complacency about IT security is increasing the risks for businesses.

“The balancing act of business enablement and protection will require a fundamental shift in how we approach IT security.” He said businesses that persist with point security solutions will find themselves at greater risk, as this approach is responsible for creating gaps in defences. “Organisations need to implement user-specific protocols which accommodate individual behavioural profiles, allowing them to track the users and devices connecting to networks . . .”