The Hindu Business Line : `More cos investing in security systems'

(From left) Mr Neel Ratan, Executive Director, Business Solutions, PwC; Mr Joydeep Datta Gupta, Executive Director and Leader, Business Solutions , PwC; and Mr S. Gopalakrishnan, COO, Infosys Technologies Ltd; at a press conference in the Capital on Tuesday. - - Kamal Narang

New Delhi , Nov. 9

WITH Information security breaches rising each year, implementing a secure information system has become a `priority' for 77 per cent of companies in information and communication technologies (ICT) sector and for 70 per cent of industries in general, according to a latest survey.

"Information security breaches continue to rise for the third consecutive time - from 60 per cent in 2000-01 to 80 per cent in 2002-03 and now at 83 per cent. While viruses continue to be the single largest source of breach (affecting 76 per cent of the respondents), non virus security incidents have affected an alarming 54 per cent of the respondents," the Information Systems Security Survey 2004. The survey was done jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and PricewatehouseCoopers Ltd (PwC).

While investment in information security among corporates in the country is relatively low, 84 per cent of the companies propose to increase their security spend in 2004 for the third consecutive year. However, 50 per cent still rate capital expenses as the major barrier affecting this increase, the survey noted.

``While many companies are reacting to the demand, some have been proactive as to address the security concerns of their clients outside India. In the last six months, many companies in IT and ITES space have come to us for putting in place secure information systems and use it as a differentiator,'' Mr Joydeep Datta Gupta, PwC Leader for Business Solutions, in the country said at a conference here.

"More corporates are expected to formalise a comprehensive security policy in the years to come," the survey said adding that as many as 40 per cent of businesses in India plan to obtain security certifications during the next 12 months.

``Apart from IT and BPO, another sector that was proactive about security was financial services," Mr S. Gopalakrishnan, Chief Operating Officer of Infosys Technologies, said.

With security breaches increasing alarmingly, PwC and CII favoured stronger enforcement of legislations to bring the hackers to book.

The survey also recommended that large businesses should focus on specialised security staffing and emphasise on enhancing end-user awareness and creating security aware culture by imparting training on security issues.