Humans to blame for security breaches

Human error is to blame for 84 per cent of IT security breaches, according to a survey of more than 900 organisations. In its second annual study of IT security and the workforce, the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) also found that only 51 per cent of organisations have a written IT security policy. The proportion of businesses citing human error as wholly or partly to blame for their last security breach was considerably higher than last year's figure of 63 per cent.

This is despite a higher level of awareness of security threats and greater spending on preventative measures among those surveyed.

The study also reveals an increase in the number of companies suffering serious security breaches.

Nearly six out of 10 respondents said they had experienced a major incident in the last six months, defined as one that resulted in the loss of confidential information or interrupted business operations. This compares to just 38 per cent of organisations last year.

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