Chief Security Officers Reveal Business Continuity, Resiliency and Disaster Recovery the Top Security Business Concern in 2006

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The CSO Magazine Security Sensor, a bi-annual survey of 420 chief security officers (CSOs) and senior security executives conducted by IDG's CSO magazine, reveals business resiliency and disaster recovery as the top ranking priority for security chiefs in 2006 - up from the third most important priority in 2004. Conversely, educating employees about security policies slipped from the top priority in 2003 to the third most important priority in 2006. Yet while business preservation and disaster recovery top the list of business priorities, the money isn't on the table: the top factor driving security investment in 2006 is regulation and compliance (43%), with only 5% of respondents ranking risk of financial loss as a top priority and a mere three percent 3% investing due to security concerns about the threat of terrorism and war.

"It's very likely that the fallout from Hurricane Katrina and the latest upheaval in U.S. Port security matters have driven home the importance of contingency planning for the nation's CSOs," says Derek Slater, editor of CSO magazine. "However, CSOs' short-term fiscal priorities reflect an immediate need to comply with government and industry mandates such as Sarbanes-Oxley. While CSOs recognize the strong need to plan for business continuity, they don't seem able to secure the money to take necessary steps at this time, and that's a big risk."

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