Remote Access Security Tops Australian IT Security Manager Priorities in 2011
Announcement posted by WatchGuard Technologies 06 Sep 2010
Security 2010 Survey Finds 39 Per Cent of IT Security Managers Can’t Live Without Access to News and Sports Web Sites While at Work
Sydney, 6 September 2010 – Australian security managers have highlighted the need to provide secure remote access for their organisation’s employees as a top security priority in the year head according to a survey conducted by WatchGuard Technologies at last week’s Security 2010 conference and exhibition staged in Sydney.
The survey found that 48 per cent of IT security managers will focus on the provision of remote access security as their top priority in the year ahead with application security and threat detection the next two areas for urgent consideration.
However, in terms of hard investment dollars, 48 per cent of respondents will channel funds into security for compliance purposes while 39 per cent will invest in information leakage solutions and Unified Threat Management appliances. The survey found that the top three key objectives for security investment include protection against theft or inappropriate disclosure of sensitive and confidential information, the need to improve business continuity and prevention against unauthorised employee access to files and data.
In evaluating specific security vendor offerings, 65 per cent of respondents value a security product’s effectiveness and accuracy while 57 per cent value the product’s reliability.
The survey also found that 65 per cent of IT security professionals spend between 30 minutes and two hours per day on non-work related web sites with 39 per cent indicating that they could not live without access to news and sports web sites while at work. Thirty-five per cent of respondents could not live without access to blogs and online communities and 22 per cent cherished access to banking and finance web sites while at work.
Scott Robertson, Regional Director ANZ, WatchGuard Technologies, said, “The survey points to the current dynamics for Australian IT security manager spending patterns as they continue to face next generation threats and regulatory compliance pressures which in turn are forcing them to recalibrate and recalculate risk management practices. Increasing protection remains a challenge but the survey suggests that organisations are looking for solutions that can fully protect against today's complex threats while ensuring network uptime for employees wherever they may be located.”
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About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.
Since 1996, WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. has been the advanced technology leader of business security solutions, providing mission-critical protection to hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. The WatchGuard family of wired and wireless unified threat management appliances, messaging, content security and SSL VPN remote access solutions provide extensible network, application and data protection, as well as unparalleled network visibility, management and control. WatchGuard products are backed by WatchGuard LiveSecurity Service, an innovative support, maintenance, and education program.
WatchGuard is headquartered in Seattle with offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Spanning 120 countries and supported by a network of more than 15,000 partners, WatchGuard has its Asia Pacific headquarter in Singapore. Presently, more than 600,000 WatchGuard security appliances have been deployed worldwide.
To learn more, visit www.watchguard.com
The survey found that 48 per cent of IT security managers will focus on the provision of remote access security as their top priority in the year ahead with application security and threat detection the next two areas for urgent consideration.
However, in terms of hard investment dollars, 48 per cent of respondents will channel funds into security for compliance purposes while 39 per cent will invest in information leakage solutions and Unified Threat Management appliances. The survey found that the top three key objectives for security investment include protection against theft or inappropriate disclosure of sensitive and confidential information, the need to improve business continuity and prevention against unauthorised employee access to files and data.
In evaluating specific security vendor offerings, 65 per cent of respondents value a security product’s effectiveness and accuracy while 57 per cent value the product’s reliability.
The survey also found that 65 per cent of IT security professionals spend between 30 minutes and two hours per day on non-work related web sites with 39 per cent indicating that they could not live without access to news and sports web sites while at work. Thirty-five per cent of respondents could not live without access to blogs and online communities and 22 per cent cherished access to banking and finance web sites while at work.
Scott Robertson, Regional Director ANZ, WatchGuard Technologies, said, “The survey points to the current dynamics for Australian IT security manager spending patterns as they continue to face next generation threats and regulatory compliance pressures which in turn are forcing them to recalibrate and recalculate risk management practices. Increasing protection remains a challenge but the survey suggests that organisations are looking for solutions that can fully protect against today's complex threats while ensuring network uptime for employees wherever they may be located.”
# # #
About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.
Since 1996, WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. has been the advanced technology leader of business security solutions, providing mission-critical protection to hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. The WatchGuard family of wired and wireless unified threat management appliances, messaging, content security and SSL VPN remote access solutions provide extensible network, application and data protection, as well as unparalleled network visibility, management and control. WatchGuard products are backed by WatchGuard LiveSecurity Service, an innovative support, maintenance, and education program.
WatchGuard is headquartered in Seattle with offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Spanning 120 countries and supported by a network of more than 15,000 partners, WatchGuard has its Asia Pacific headquarter in Singapore. Presently, more than 600,000 WatchGuard security appliances have been deployed worldwide.
To learn more, visit www.watchguard.com