McAfee Inc. (Santa Clara, CA, USA) is a company that proactively secures systems and networks for home users, businesses, service providers, and government agencies, against threats worldwide. The company recently announced the findings from the first global study on the security of information economies, "Unsecured Economies: Protecting Vital Information."
The study was based on research carried out at Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS; West Lafayette, IN, USA). Responses were obtained from more than 800 Chief Information Officers (CIO's) in companies in the USA, UK, Germany, Japan, China, India, Brazil, and Dubai. The research examined the origins of vital information, such as intellectual property; where it is stored globally; and how it is transferred and lost.
The surveyed companies estimated combined losses of $4.6 billion worth of intellectual property in 2008 alone, and spent approximately $600 million repairing damage from data breaches. Based on these data, McAfee projects that companies worldwide lost more than $1 trillion in 2008.
"Companies grossly underestimate the loss, and value, of their intellectual property," said Eugene Spafford, professor of computer science at Purdue University and executive director of CERIAS. "Intellectual property is a form of currency that is traded internationally, and can have serious economic impact, if stolen."
The report suggests that the ability to store intellectual property safely is a key force behind security investment in Brazil, Japan, and China. Recession puts intellectual property at greater risk. Developing countries are more motivated and spend more on protecting intellectual property than their Western counterparts. Brazil. China and India spend more on security than Germany, UK, USA, and Japan.
Intellectual property has become an emerging target for cybercriminals, and corporate data intrusions by organized cyber mafia gangs are on the rise. An increasing number of financially challenged employees are using their corporate data access to steal vital information. Geopolitical perceptions also influence data policy reality: the surveyed companies identified China, Pakistan and Russia as trouble zones for various legal, cultural and economic reasons, while almost 50% of the Chinese respondents believed that the USA posed the biggest threat to their intellectual property.
The report, which can be downloaded, concludes with suggested practices for protecting valuable digital assets in these challenging times.
Related Links:
McAfee Inc.
Report: Unsecured Economies: Protecting Vital Information
CERIAS
