As viruses and malicious software bloom, senior executives across a range of industries see security as their top concern in implementing converged IP (Internet Protocol) networks, according to a joint study released Tuesday by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and AT&T. It"s the second year in a row that the survey, which polled 236 executives in 50 countries, put security ahead of cost, their second greatest concern, said Denis McCauley, director of global technology research for the EIU. Security was ranked first at 26 percent, followed by implementation costs at 23 percent and the cost of new equipment at 19 percent, the study said.
Nonetheless, 62 percent of the respondents expect to implement IP networks in the next three years, although 63 percent felt that processing consumer data online put them at risk of security breaches. McCauley said the study"s results were not surprising so much as noteworthy in the respect that the greatest advantages of converged IP networks -- openness across the enterprise to customer and company data -- are also its greatest vulnerability. Companies are also using more mobile devices, creating more possible entry points into networks, he said. Executives, however, believe the biggest threat comes from people. The study showed that executives think most attacks come from inside their company as part of internal sabotage, spying by employees or simply unintentional mistakes.