Information security in 2011

2011 Global State of Information Security Survey

Over the past year, it has been hard to predict when, where and with what strength global economic conditions might improve.

So it isn’t surprising to discover this year, that – according to the results of the 2011 Global State of Information Security Survey® – executives across industries and markets worldwide have been reluctant to release funding supporting the information security function.

This financial restraint is in spite of clear evidence that as information security emerges from the smoke of a brutal year – and, in effect a “trial by fire”, as last year’s survey revealed – it is sporting a new hard-won respect, not just from many but from most of this year’s respondents.

This includes more than 12,000 CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, CISOs, CSOs and other executives responsible for their organisation’s IT and security investments in more than 130 countries.

Key Highlights:

• Asked about their expectations about security spending in the coming year, respondents are more optimistic than at any time since before 2005.
• This year’s spending drivers aren’t new. But here’s the surprise: almost every one of these factors are trending at, or near, four-year lows.
• For the second year in a row, increasing the focus on data protection is the single most common strategy worldwide.
• This year, there is a significant shift in the ongoing evolution of the CISO’s reporting channel away from the CIO in favor of the company’s senior business decision-makers.