April 14, 2006—The CSO Magazine Security Sensor, a bi-annual survey of 420 chief security officers (CSOs) and senior security executives conducted by IDG’s CSO magazine, reveals business resiliency and disaster recovery as the top ranking priority for security chiefs in 2006—up from the third most important priority in 2004.
Conversely, educating employees about security policies slipped from the top priority in 2003 to the third most important priority in 2006, according to the survey. Yet while business preservation and disaster recovery top the list of business priorities, the money isn’t on the table: the top factor driving security investment in 2006 is regulation and compliance (43%), with only 5% of respondents ranking risk of financial loss as a top priority and a mere three percent 3% investing due to security concerns about the threat of terrorism and war.
Only 7% of senior security executives are extremely confident that their organizations’ information security activities are effective with 43% very confident and another 42% reporting they are somewhat confident. A small minority of respondents (7%) are not very confident in their organizations’ security effectiveness with one percent stating they are not at all confident.
CSO magazine conducted this online survey between January 25 and February 10, 2006 among chief security officers and other security executives who subscribe to CSO magazine. For complete results, please contact Karen Fogerty at 508.935.4091 or Fogerty@cxo.com.
Launched in 2002, CSO magazine, its companion website and the CSO Perspectives conference provide chief security officers (CSOs) with analysis and insight on security trends and a keen understanding of how to develop successful strategies to secure all business assets—from people to information and financial value to physical infrastructure.
