IT expert calls on companies to invest in data security training

16:00 26th November 2008

IT expert Fran Howarth, writing for vnunet.com, has urged companies not to skimp on IT data security measures, despite the global economic malaise.

The Quocirca analyst made her comments in response to a study by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which has revealed that breaches in database management security are often the result of poorly trained employees.

With job insecurity heightened in the current climate, unhappy employees may maliciously leak sensitive personal customer information.

Ms Howarth warns that the consequences of a breach in database security are wide-ranging: "Corporate reputations can be damaged and many of the regulations with which organisations must comply have real teeth and enforce severe penalties."

She adds that with the business sector storing 90 per cent of its data digitally, companies should do more to restrict access to data as well as undertake the latest IT training to ensure data security.

Earlier this month the Society of IT Management joined forces with the Local Government Association to draw up best practice guidelines in an effort to curtail the number of IT security breaches within the sector.