Survey: Security Execs Lack Control

LONDON -- Brand reputation, risk management and preventing data loss surfaced clearly as the burning concerns of senior security professionals participating in the London meeting of the CSO Interchange, a high level forum geared to discussing hot topics of the day. 60% profess to having only "some idea" as to where their customer data is stored and "limited controls" over it. 72% see the impact of

payment card loss on brand reputation as their biggest concern.

Speaking at the event, cross-bench peer, Lord Erroll, a member of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, described the recent HMRC data breach as a "godsend"..."with luck the missing CDs have ended up in a landfill site but this fiasco will force the government to start taking security seriously and the powers of the Information Commissioner's Office will be strengthened."

Concerns about data loss were clearly a running theme throughout the debate. Although 32% felt they did know where their customer data was being kept and had controls in place. Alarmingly, 9% of those present had not even yet considered data loss as a specific issue.