The IT security blame game

Who carries the can and who should?

By Jon Collins, 17th May 2010

Workshop Poll The word “governance” is one that tends to make most peoples’ eyes glaze over. But whether we are talking about running a corporation, managing an IT department or dealing with IT security, there has to be a mechanism in place for making sure that the right things are taken care of in an acceptable manner. And cutting through all the theory, that’s basically what governance boils down to. A big part of this is being clear on who is responsible for what, and who carries the can when it all goes wrong. And this is the subject of this week’s poll. So if you have a few minutes to spare get clicking below:

READER POLL: THE IT SECURITY BLAME GAME

1. Who has ultimate responsibility for the following aspects of IT security?

	Exclusively IT	IT led, supported by the business	Business & IT together	Business led, supported by IT	Exclusively the business
*General system security*
Identification of needs
Prioritisation of actions
Allocation of funding
Allocation of man power
Selection of tools, etc
Implementation of tools, etc
Day to day running of security infrastructure
Monitoring of effectiveness
Other (please specify)
*Information security*
Identification of needs
Prioritisation of actions
Allocation of funding
Allocation of man power
Selection of tools, etc
Implementation of tools, etc
Day to day running of security infrastructure
Monitoring of effectiveness
Other (please specify)

2. How much would you agree or disagree with the following statements?

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly disagree
Business stakeholders don’t appreciate how important some aspects of IT security really are
We have a genuine problem figuring out what we should or shouldn’t be prioritising from an IT security perspective
IT security is generally underfunded in the organisation
IT security is funded OK, but we generally have to fight tooth and nail for every penny we get
Business stakeholders demand IT security, but delegate far too much to the IT department
Business stakeholders just don’t care enough about IT security
IT gets the blame when things go wrong even though they had previously flagged up the risk
Other (please specify)

3. If you could change one thing to improve the way security priorities are set and funded what would it be?

BEFORE YOU GO

4. Approximately how large is your organisation (worldwide) in terms of employees?

Less than 10 employees
10 to 50 employees
50 to 250 employees
250 to 1,000 employees
1,000 to 5,000 employees
5,000 to 10,000 employees
Over 10,000 employees

7. Which of the following best describes your organisation?

Energy & Utilities
Financial Services
Healthcare
Hi-Tech
Manufacturing
Oil & Gas
Pharmaceuticals
Central/Local Government
Retail & wholesale
Professional services
Telecommunications
Travel & Transportation
Other (please specify)

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COMMENTS

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All Reader Comments (2)

Highly Rated

Posted Monday 17th May 2010 21:34 GMT

ratfox

No academics?

I did not fill the poll, but I am surprised this is not a choice under "type of business"...

Posted Monday 17th May 2010 21:40 GMT

austin cheney

Missing critical data

Where is the option for senior management? Since there is no such option I cannot participate in your poll. Your might need to review your pollster's CISSP credentials a bit more closely.

Just to be clear "The Business" is not the senior management. If all decisions were left purely to business there would be no security and we would be drowning in popups and advertisements.