Dayton Business Journal...
Report: Security breaches alarm executives
by Laura Englehart, DBJ Staff Reporter
Monday, July 18, 2011 

Nearly two-thirds of IT business leaders estimate their company experiences three or more security breaches annually, a recent survey shows. 

Robert Half Technology polled 1,400 technology executives nationwide to examine their top concerns. Twenty-four percent who participated said they worry most about keeping sensitive data secure at a time when many companies have had security compromises. That level of concern also is found at the local level for businesses in Dayton. 

“What I’m seeing (in the Dayton region) are a lot of the same worries that are nationwide right now,” said Brittany Neal, division director for Robert Half Technology. “Companies are based off of technology; their ability to run starts at that technology level. When it fails, it’s a big deal.” 

The survey shows about 10 percent of IT businesses do not experience any security breaches, and 12 percent have one or two in a year’s time. Meanwhile, 14 percent estimated 21 or more occur annually. 

Thirteen percent surveyed did not know or declined to answer the question. 

Neal said security breaches could include computer hackers stealing e-mail addresses or client data or leaking confidential company information. 

In recent months, computer hackers have targeted companies such as Sony Corp. , Citigroup Inc. , JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp 

Defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton , which employs about 400 workers in the Dayton area, confirmed this month that as many as 90,000 customer emails and passwords were compromised in an “illegal attack” on the company’s data. 

On a national scale, a San Francisco man recently pleaded guilty in court to hacking into computers and stealing Apple Inc. iPad customer data from AT&T Inc. He could spend as many as 10 years in jail and pay $500,000, if given the maximum penalty for identity theft and conspiring to gain unauthorized access to computers. 

A survey released in 2010 by the National Cyber Security Alliance and Visa shows nearly half of small-business owners think the time and money necessary to secure their business isn’t justified by the threat. 

Meanwhile, many larger tech companies, such as Microsoft Corp. , Dell Inc. , Hewlett-Packard Co . and Oracle Corp. , have taken measures to better protect their products. 

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