Media releases are provided as is by companies and have not been edited or checked for accuracy. Any queries should be directed to the company itself.

e-Crime Congress Survey Reveals Jail Sentence for CEO a Fitting Punishment for Data Breach

  • 09 April, 2008 16:37

Sydney — 9 April, 2008 — An international survey of 107 security professionals conducted by Websense at this year’s e-Crime Congress reveals a quarter of respondents believe the arrest and jail sentence for the CEO or Board member responsible would be a fitting punishment for a serious company data breach that exposes consumers’ confidential data.

Only 3% did not believe there should be any legally enforced punishment. Seventy nine percent of respondents believe companies experiencing serious breaches should be fined and 59% feel compensation should be given to consumers affected. Respondents almost unanimously (96%) called for an enforcing body that obliges global governments to work together to address cybercrime.

Other survey results:

• Stakeholder Pressure to Prevent Data Loss: Compared with one year ago, 79% of respondents believed the average organisation is now under more pressure from stakeholders to introduce additional measures to protect against data loss. Key factors driving this include:

o Securing the company brand (51%)

o External pressure from data loss being reported in the media (56%)

o Personal data security (42%)

o Affect on share price of a security breach (34%)

• Responsibility Lies with CEO or Board: An almost unanimous view (95%) amongst respondents that the Board or CEO should be held accountable for a security breach with 26% of these respondents believing the CEO should take ultimate responsibility. This indicates a marked change in opinion compared with the 2007 survey that found 74% of security professionals believed the Board should be responsible. Last year, 21% found the IT department ultimately responsible and in 2008 this number has reduced to just 5%.

• Reactive Security at Board-level: Just over three quarters (76%) of respondents thought the average company continues to take a reactive approach to security at Board-level despite the view that the Board should be accountable for security breaches.

• Data Loss Prevention Not a Priority: Respondents believed the top reasons for companies not taking action against data loss was cost (45%) and not putting the protection of their confidential data as a high enough priority (45%). Other reasons included:

o Would not take action until legally required 22%

o Too complicated 21%

o Belief that no action is needed (9%)

• Need for Security Standard To Aid Consumer Trust: 91% of survey respondents believed the introduction of a recognised security standard would inspire increased consumer trust in company brands.

“This survey indicates a strengthening opinion for action to be taken against cybercrime and data loss on a broader scale than ever before. We do expect to see more stringent regulation for security breaches, including those that involve the loss of personal data. Board members should ensure proactive, strategic action is taken to protect their organisation’s essential information from emerging Web-based and e-mail borne security threats and data loss to prevent sensitive information getting into the wrong hands,” said Mark Murtagh, technical director EMEA and APAC, Websense.

The sample size of this international survey was 107 respondents from 15 countries. All respondents were amongst the delegates who attended the e-Crime Congress on 5 and 6 March 2008. These included security professionals from government and public and private sector organisations, as well as senior managers charged with responsibility for risk, audit and compliance.

About Websense, Inc. Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN), a global leader in integrated Web, messaging and data protection technologies, provides Essential Information Protection™ for more than 42 million employees at more than 50,000 organisations worldwide. Distributed through its global network of channel partners, Websense software and hosted security solutions help organisations block malicious code, prevent the loss of confidential information and enforce Internet use and security policies. For more information, visit www.Websense.com

# # # Websense and SurfControl are registered trademarks of Websense, Inc. in the United States and certain international markets. Websense has numerous other registered and unregistered trademarks in the United States and internationally. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Most Popular
CSO Corporate Partners
  • FirEye
  • Clear Swift
  • Trend Micro
  • Sophos
  • NetIQ
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to CSO, invitation only events, reports & analysis.
CSO Directory

ZENworks® Endpoint Security Management

Protect against bugs in USB Storage devices

more »

Submit your own security event

Submit your training courses

Security Awareness Tip
Software security company www.clearswift.com gives some advice this holiday season to make sure employees don’t end up on Santa’s naughty list!


At a fundamental business level, social media is a useful additional tool for communicating and collaborating with customers, colleagues and new business prospects. From an HR point of view, the social web is not only useful for recruitment but also as a knowledge network. At an employee level, social media is changing the way we work: Employees increasingly expect to be able to access personal technology and services in the workplace. As the lines between work and home life blur, staff are looking for greater flexibility in their roles; working from home is an increasing trend, but so too is ‘home-ing from work’, where staff expect to be able to perform personal tasks at work.

But social media brings risk and reward to business in equal measure. Information security is a key concern: Many organisations view social media channels as yet another route along which sensitive data can escape from the business, whether accidentally or maliciously. On top of this, senior management may be concerned about the amount of time employees spend on social networks.

This cultural shift raises new questions about trust in the workplace, the balance of power in employer / employee relationship and levels of control over people and content.


Organisations using content and web security technology can manage the way their staff use email and the internet without having to resort to a default position of mistrust. With a whopping third of ANZ employers completely blocking social media access at work, there’s a real danger of throwing the benefits of collaboration out with the risks.


It doesn’t have to be that way.

Trust breeds responsibility: People underestimate the amount of company time they spend on personal browsing. Allow staff to view their own web usage and foster more responsible behaviour without undermining trust.


Know limits: Set clear limits on personal surfing and communicate them to users. Alert them when they are approaching their limit. Help your people to play by the rules.


Share the load: Spread responsibility for usage reporting among managers and department heads so everyone gets to see how their usage impacts on the rest of the organisation. This also gives managers greater control and visibility into usage.


Need to know: Yes, you need reports and visibility. What you don’t need is employee data becoming common knowledge. Access control means reporting can be adjusted on a need-to-know basis.


Security ABC Guides

7 Ways to Protect Your Business Printers

Can a hacker burn down your business by remotely setting one of your printers on fire? Researchers at Columbia University have recently proposed such a scenario, although HP quickly denied that it's possible. However, even if your printers can't be used as remote firestarters, there are many risks involved in networking a printer.

Read More
more »