As the number of security breaches at U.S. companies rise, more corporate leaders say they have prepared in advance with hacking response plans, according to a new study.
But ask the executives how well they think those plans will work and enthusiasm falls.
According to a survey of more than 550 U.S. executives by the Ponemon Institute and credit report giant Experian, only 30 percent of respondents told the researchers they think their company would be effective or very effective in executing a data breach plan.
The researchers also found deficiencies in “keeping the data breach response plan up-to-date, conducting risk assessments of areas vulnerable to a breach, continuous monitoring of information systems to detect unusual and anomalous traffic, and investing in technologies that enable timely detections of a security breach.”
The number of breaches among the group grew from 33 percent in 2013 to 43 percent this year. In 2014, 60 percent said their company was breached more than once in the past two years, up from 52 percent in 2013.
The survey found that 73 percent of executives had breach response teams in place in 2014, compared to 61 percent the year before.
In this year’s study, 54 percent said they offered privacy and data protection awareness training for employees, one of the frequent causes of data breaches. That was up from 44 percent in 2013.
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