Ponemon: Financial Services Firms Lacking Security

A survey by the Ponemon Institute of 80 large financial firms revealed that poor operating practices leave companies vulnerable to breaches that could expose sensitive data or put customers' and employees' privacy at risk.

According to eSecurity Planet, 83 percent of companies use real data, like credit card or account numbers, when developing and testing applications. The numbers show that financial services firms don't take some of the basic precautions to protect information:

 

• 88 percent of respondents said they still use Social Security numbers as their primary identifier.
• 47 percent said they have intrusion detection systems in place.
• Only 41 percent said they have deployed data loss prevention technologies.

Such lax management policies not only damage the corporate brand and erode consumer trust, but they also open up the risk of falling out of compliance with government regulations.