Finance and IT departments should be aligned on security

Businesses value business continuity as three times more important than IT, according to research from Sophos.

Sophos claim that businesses should seriously consider the alignment of their finance and IT departments when it comes to IT security in the current economic climate.

A recent study shows that 60 percent of finance departments see business continuity as the most important business issue, compared with just 20 percent of IT teams.

It has identified that both business areas have very different views on the main issues affecting them, and contrasting views between two departments at the very heart of the business could potentially leave holes in IT security or mean investment isn't spent wisely.

Meanwhile, 45 percent of finance departments surveyed believe that data loss prevention should be high on the agenda, compared to less than 10 percent of IT sectors. In another contrast, 50 percent of finance departments agree that creating and implementing an IT security policy is vital, compared to just 15 percent of IT departments.

Carole Theriault, senior security consultant at Sophos, said: “All organisations must tackle these disparities head-on in order to achieve the best for business – a failure to address the gap could have disastrous consequences and should be avoided at all costs.

“One of the major challenges facing IT teams is to ensure that all IT security bases are covered with limited resource on hand to achieve their goals. The key is to adopt a simple, integrated approach and nurture the existing relationship between finance and IT, both departments must be willing to listen to and evaluate the other's concerns, ultimately working towards an overall solution amenable for the company.

“Once each department has got its priorities straight, their united front will enable them to keep the company's IT infrastructures protected against the latest perils the threat landscape has to throw at them.”

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