16 Jan 2009

Don't cut corners on security, expert warns

Businesses should treat information security as a priority in the current financial climate, an expert has said.

Alan Calder, chief executive of information security advisory firm IT Governance Limited, commented that organisations of all sizes face the threat of security breaches which could potentially threaten their futures.

The average cost of a computer security breach is between £10,000 and £20,000, he said.

Given that many businesses might be feeling the pinch financially, Mr Calder recommended risk identification strategies to be treated as a priority by firms.

Mr Calder said: "In the current credit crunch the last thing you should be doing is skimping on your IT security framework – as it could well be the Trojan horse that leads to the collapse of your entire company."

His comments come as some businesses are using managed IT solutions to protect their data.

Virtualisation can enable core data to be replicated, which can save money on organisations' data centre and infrastructure management by reducing the amount of machines they require to backup information on site.