Evolving IT Security Trends and Challenges Within Today’s Organizations

• Publication date: December 2012
• Report size: 45 pages

The customer research study investigates the IT security trends and challenges within today’s organizations. In particular, it investigates deployment status of a variety of solutions, it explores which security solutions are being outsourced to managed security service providers (MSSPs), and it aims to understand the top security priorities within today’s organizations. It appears that firewall/VPN remains the most prevalent security solutio...

The customer research study investigates the IT security trends and challenges within today’s organizations. In particular, it investigates deployment status of a variety of solutions, it explores which security solutions are being outsourced to managed security service providers (MSSPs), and it aims to understand the top security priorities within today’s organizations. It appears that firewall/VPN remains the most prevalent security solution, while reduction of customer identity theft and fraud remains the top security priority, followed by reduction of law breaching behavior. Moreover, only one third of respondents report outsourcing IT security to MSSPs, to which firewall/VPN solutions are mostly outsourced.
Research Background
As the sophistication and frequency of cyber threats continues to increase, the information technology (IT) security industry faces the daunting challenge of defending against heterogeneous, complicated attack methods. Protection against data theft and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks remain a top priority within the industry.
Businesses of all sizes face unprecedented security risks with the emergence of innovative IT strategies such as the bring your own device (BYOD) trend, social media, and cloud computing. Weak mobile-device management and ineffective security solutions pose a high threat to personal and intellectual property (IP) data through the proliferation of mobile malware.
The severity of cyber threats against government systems became clear in light of the increased targeting of key energy and utility systems by supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) attacks. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that, in 2011 alone, three U.S. cities experienced SCADA breaches.

Security Systems Industry in the United States

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Research Objectives and Methods 6
Executive Summary 11
Security Systems’ Deployment Status and Importance 13
•Currently Deployed Security Solutions: Total Sample 14
•Currently Deployed Security Solutions
Vertical Market Assessment: Education 15
•Currently Deployed Security Solutions
Vertical Market Assessment: Government 16
•Currently Deployed Security Solutions Vertical Market Assessment: Financial Services 17
•Currently Deployed Security Solutions Vertical Market Assessment: Healthcare 18
•Currently Deployed Security Solutions Vertical Market Assessment: Retail 19
Outsourcing to MSSPs 20
•Outsourcing to MSSPs 21
•Outsourcing to MSSPs Among Organizations Deploying Firewall/VPN Solutions 22
•Outsourcing to MSSPs Among Organizations Deploying Anti-Malware Solutions 23
•Outsourcing to MSSPs Among Organizations Deploying NAC Solutions 24
•Outsourcing to MSSPs Among Organizations Deploying DLP Solutions 25
•Outsourcing to MSSPs Among Organizations Deploying IDS/IPS Solutions 26
•Outsourcing to MSSPs Among Organizations Deploying UTM Solutions 27
•Outsourcing to MSSPs Among Organizations Deploying SIEM/Log Management Solutions 28
Top Security Priorities 29
•Top Security Priority: Total Sample 30
•Top Security Priorities by Deployed Solution 31
Firmographics 32
•Overall Workforce Trends 33
Appendix 39
The Frost & Sullivan Story 41