SA at par with globe in IT security

By STAFF REPORTER
JOHANNESBURG – THE information technology (IT) concerns challenges and investment by South African enterprises is closely aligned with those of their international counterparts.
This is according to a new global survey by network security specialists, Fortinet.
Announcing the findings of Fortinet’s 2017 Global Enterprise Security Survey in Johannesburg this week, Paul Williams, Country Manager – Southern Africa at Fortinet, said South Africa was stepping up its focus on IT security largely due to high profile breaches and the growing move to the cloud.
South Africa was included in the international survey for the first time.
“Where as recently as two years ago, South Africa lagged the rest of the developed world in terms of IT security focus, we now see local enterprises closely following international trends on the IT security
drivers, investment and challenges they face,” Williams said.
The survey, which polled over 1 800 enterprise IT decision makers in 16 countries during August this year, found that the transition to the cloud as part of an organisation’s digital transformation journey was a catalyst for an increased focus on security.
71 percent of South African IT security decision makers believe that cloud security is becoming a growing priority – slightly less than the 74 respondents, compared with 50 percent globally, are planning investment in cloud security in the next 12 months.
Williams said as organisations embraced digital transformation, the company saw IT decision-makers emphasizing that cybersecurity is a strategic business investment.
“It is interesting to note that South Africa has progressed in recent years, with local enterprise executives increasing their focus and investment on IT security.”
However, the key challenges faced now appear to include the ongoing vulnerability posed by employees, high-level information security skills shortages and buy-in from executive level.