'Lack of IT security training in businesses'

09:45 16th March 2009

There is a lack of IT security awareness in the UK, with less than half of surveyed companies training non-IT staff in security issues.

Research from the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTia) found there was a drop of almost ten per cent in the proportion of staff trained in security awareness between 2007 and 2008.

Tim Herbert, vice president of research at CompTia, expressed concern at the findings, especially given the proliferation of mobile internet technology and the associated security risks.

Mr Herbert said: "Security threats grow along with the expanding reach of IT, so non-IT employees need to be continually trained on the latest IT security threats."

He added that increased use of social networks, smartphones and portable laptops make IT training in security issues an important element of modern business.

Human error accounts for the majority of business data breaches, further highlighting the need for heightened awareness.

IT security firm Sophos recently found that only a fifth of web-users employ a different password for each separate website they log onto.