Wireless Networks, Mobile Apps, Cloud Play Large Role in IT Security

by Nathan Eddy

More than half of the executives surveyed (63 percent) cite the looming threat of security breaches as their most important security concern for 2013.

Seventy-six percent of companies are using the cloud or plan to invest in cloud services in 2013. Of those surveyed, 62 percent already include cloud services as part of their corporate infrastructure.

The majority of organizations surveyed invest in mobile security services. Of those companies, 66 percent take proactive measures against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

The vast majority (84 percent) of executives indicated they are concerned about the use of mobile networks and devices and their impact on security threats.

More than three-fourths (78 percent) of companies said their business continuity plan accommodates the possibility of a network security event.

For disaster recovery purposes, just under half (49 percent) of companies said they plan on leveraging cloud computing for data storage.

More than half (52 percent) of businesses surveyed are taking proactive measures by identifying potential attacks with DDoS protection services.

Eighty-seven percent of executives indicate their organizations have a business continuity plan in place in case of a disaster or threat—a slight uptick from the 86 percent recorded last year.

Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of companies surveyed included their wireless network capabilities as part of their business continuity plan.

AT&T has conducted this study for 12 consecutive years, surveying IT executives from companies in the United States with at least $25 million in annual revenue to measure the national pulse on business continuity planning.