Survey Reveals Need for IT Security Education Within Organizations

According to a new survey conducted by Sophos on employee usage behavior, a staggering 96 percent of respondents (IT professionals) do not trust their end users to make sound IT security decisions.

The survey results highlight the need to educate employees on IT security issues and best practices. To help with this Sophos has developed a new free training tool for IT professionals — IT Security DOs and DON’Ts.

In the survey, Sophos asked IT professionals from around the globe several questions about employee IT usage behavior. Additional highlights include:
– 48% of respondents fix security issues caused by end user negligence at least once a week
– 26% of respondents say senior management commits the worst IT security offenses
– 19% of respondents say that IT commits the worst IT security offenses

These results underscore the impact that a lack of understanding security policies and best practices — in every department and at all levels of an organization — can have on an IT infrastructure.

In its ongoing commitment to aid IT departments in educating employees, Sophos has developed a comprehensive program that assists IT professionals in teaching their colleagues about security. The free “IT Security DOs and DON’Ts” kit includes materials such as:

– Launch guide with quick tips for IT professionals to begin an educational program
– IT Security DOs and DON’Ts posters and handbook for end users with top 10 tips
– Bite-sized reminder email templates
– Password DOs and DON’Ts 1-pager to help end users create strong passwords
– PowerPoint presentation for IT professionals to use for trainings, etc.

“Creating a comprehensive security policy is difficult enough without having employees accidently subverting the protocols we have in place. However, taking the time to create an all-encompassing educational campaign can be too time consuming,” said Damian Barry, president, Global Business Technology. “Using the program that Sophos has developed rather than creating something from scratch will help me keep my clients informed so I can continue focusing on other tasks.”

“We provide organizations with everything they need to protect their networks — from a suite of complete security solutions to educational tools,” said Mark Harris, vice president, SophosLabs, Sophos. “We’re excited that we have been able to transform our security expertise into a range educational tools that will both inform and entertain.”