SMBs Consider Disk Encryption a Priority

As data protection mandates become stricter and high profile instances of data loss proliferate in the media, a new survey of more than 360 attendees at Infosecurity Europe 2011 found that two thirds of respondents (67 percent) hold disk encryption to be an IT security priority. The study was conducted by authentication and endpoint security provider DigitalPersona, Inc.

"In recent months we have witnessed a steady stream of high profile hacks at large organizations where sensitive data has been compromised. Businesses are seeing these attacks, as well as the major financial and reputational damage that they cause, and are realizing the importance of protecting their own data wherever it resides," said Jim Fulton, vice president of marketing at DigitalPersona.

"Although it’s encouraging that most businesses are making encryption a priority, it’s vital that they understand how to implement it effectively," continued Fulton. "Given the proliferation of devices these days, with notebooks outselling desktop computers, it’s pointless only to encrypt centrally-held data. It’s simply not enough to protect sensitive and confidential information in one place if you’re going to ignore all the copies and pieces of data that are replicated on devices across the business. While large enterprises may have the resources to implement effective and comprehensive disk encryption on all devices, smaller organizations have traditionally reported difficulty finding encryption that is affordable and easy to implement."

The survey also found that more than two in five respondents (42 percent) were interested in biometrics for network access control.

"Security-conscious organizations are increasingly recognizing that traditional authentication factors are simply not secure enough to protect against today’s threats," said Fulton. "Biometric technology has really matured in the last couple of years, to the extent that it is an affordable, reliable and efficient means of ensuring that only legitimate users can access networks, devices or data. No longer prohibitively expensive, biometrics now enable small and medium-sized businesses to implement robust, enterprise-grade authentication, without the complexity and inconvenience of token-based systems-a fact recognized by almost half of our respondents."