IT pros between 18 and 44 have a tendency of hacking their own companies, Absolute Software study reveals

Feb 23, 2016 11:20 GMT  ·  By

The subject of security is starting to become a common discussion topic inside US organizations, a recent survey reveals, and it's probably being talked in many other companies around the world as well.

Absolute Software conducted a survey of 501 US IT and security professionals about various topics related to a company's security practices.

The survey only included data from professionals at companies that had more than 50 employees and worked in an IT or security role such as IT Director, IT Executive, IT Administrator, ID Manager, or IT Security.

The increase in data breaches drives security spending in 2016

The study's key findings reveal that compared to the previous years, the numerous security breaches that took place during 2015 had driven the point home in many companies, and many top-level execs have reacted accordingly.

This change in attitude is reflected by the fact that 97% of all respondents said that security has become a top priority in their company, and 87% even expect to see a rise in investments and fund allocations to security-related spending in 2016, something also noted by a similar 451 Research study.

Respondents also said that security expenses make up 37% of their current IT budget, which is a much better number compared to similar studies that came out in 2015, and in studies where security experts didn't even have a spot on the company's board, let alone a say in its budget.

The reason IT pros are paying more attention to their security budget may also be due the fact that 38% said they've experienced a data breach during 2015, 20% don't have any security breach response plan in place, and 33% also noticed that security protocols aren't properly followed in their company.

Insider threats are a reason for concern

Asked what their primary security concern is, most companies (46%) said they fear their own employees ("insider threats" in infosec lingo). Respondents also identified third-party hackers in 38% of the answers, 11% pointed the finger at their competitors while 5% at their business partners.

And the survey respondents weren't wrong to point their finger at the companies’ own employees, even if in some cases they could have pointed the fingers at themselves.

45% of all IT and security pros acknowledged that they knowingly circumvented their own security policies while another 33% said they hacked their own or another organization.

Broken down per age groups, this last number reveals that 41% of IT pros between the age of 18 and 44 have a tendency of hacking their own or another company while only 12% of IT pros of 45 and older engage in such actions.

These and many more other statistics are available in Absolute Software's U.S. IT Confidential Report (shiny infographics included).

IT security spending is up
IT security spending is up

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IT pros have a habit of hacking their own organizations
IT security spending is up
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