Public sector slows security spend

The public sector has seen the smallest rise in IT security spending, well below both the manufacturing and creative sectors, according to a survey conducted by security software company Netegrity.

The results, taken from organisations across a number of vertical markets, suggest that 52 per cent of public sector respondents will be increasing IT security spend over the coming year.

The biggest increases have been in retail with a rise of 78 per cent, followed by telecoms and manufacturing sectors with 67 and 66 per cent respectively.

According to the Netegrity report: "In view of the ever-increasing sophistication of attacks and the risk of internal security breaches, it would seem this increased investment in IT security is still not reaching adequate levels."

Alarmingly, almost a third of public sector organisations participating in the survey reported no member of staff taking responsibility for IT security decisions, suggesting that security issues have a low priority across the board.