Ernst & Young Finds Cloud Computing, Social Media and Mobile Devices Pose Greatest Security Risks

By Kalen Smith, Big4 Blogger

Ernst & Young published the findings of its 2012 Global Information Security Survey earlier today. Researchers polled nearly 2,000 IT professionals to determine what security risks global businesses need to be aware of in the coming year. The responses from the survey found that cloud computing, social media and mobile devices pose the greatest risks for global businesses.

Ernst & Young found that nearly 60% of respondents said they intended to use cloud computing, social media or mobile devices to run their businesses. However, only 38% of them intend to implement a security plan that takes this technology into consideration.

Many IT professionals are beginning to become aware of how the the risks are that arise from wireless technology and social media. Respondents reported that the number of security breaches arising from cloud computing, social media or mobile technology increased 31% over the past year.

Nearly half of the respondents in the study expect funding for IT security to remain the same over the next year. Approximately 10% said they expect funding to increase more than 25%. The remaining respondents said that they expect funding to increase between 5 to 15% through the next year.

Most IT professionals said that security funding wasn’t the biggest concern. Their biggest challenge has been finding qualified information security experts. Also, the majority of respondents said the biggest challenge has been convincing employees to follow security protocols the organization has put in place.