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Digital Transformation

Awareness of IT security ‘needs to be improved’

Many employees remain clueless about the benefits of high IT security.

Could your business benefit from improving employees’ knowledge of IT security? According to Martyn Ruks, technical director at MWR InfoSecurity, more needs to be done to ensure staff have a working knowledge of online and offline security.

Firms that invest in extra training for their workers could find they have better records management as a result.

Mr Ruks commented: "I think there is certainly a lack of a very positive spin on what kind of skills are needed and how those skills can actually be used in the workplace. I think from that point then it reflects on the kind of skills and training of professionals in the security industry."

He posited that this lack of attention starts at school, and the only way to tackle it is to ensure students understand the careers that exist in IT security and the challenges that are there.

"I think that starts off with an awareness of the security covered and in a very general sense, security is typically portrayed as a very negative thing and is the thing to stop you accessing Facebook during your lessons and people who try and get around those controls are often vilified or excluded," Mr Ruks added.

His remarks came after research from Cisco revealed a "startling" lack of concern about security among students and young professionals, which Infoeecurity Europe’s Claire Sellick claims highlights the need for better and more pervasive education on the subject of IT security.

"Obviously, expecting IT security to be handled by the device manufacturer is about as sensible as expecting a car manufacturer to educate buyers on road safety," she commented.

"But expecting employers to deal with IT security is quite logical and one of the reasons why we have invested so much in the education programme that has formed a central feature of each Infosecurity Europe show since the 1980s."