Federal Agencies Vulnerable to Security Threats, Study Says

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/news-item/federal-agencies-vulnerable-security-threats-study-says

Government agencies often fail to take the user experience into account
when deploying cyber security solutions, resulting in a variety of cyber
threats including international cyber attacks, denial-of-service attacks,
hackers, and data theft, according to a new study from MeriTalk, an
Alexandria, Va.-based online community for government and healthcare IT
issues.

According to the study—which was underwritten by the N.Y.-based Akamai
Technologies—few federal cyber security professionals feel completely
prepared for these threats. Seventy-four percent say they are not prepared
for an international cyber attack, 74 percent say they are not prepared to
support secure access for mobile devices, 70 percent are not prepared for a
denial-of-service attack, and 70 percent are not prepared to secure
cloud-computing environments. Prepared or not, these cyber attacks show no
signs of slowing—half of cyber security professionals say their agency is
likely to be the victim of a denial-of-service attack in the next 12 months.

As a result of the numerous cyber threats, cyber security professionals are
focused on keeping data secure but fail to prioritize the user experience.
Seventy-four percent of cyber security professionals say their top priority
is preventing data theft, followed by ensuring a thorough web security
strategy (56 percent), maintaining and upgrading security systems (55
percent), deploying the most up-to-date cyber security protocols (54
percent), and mitigating denial-of-service attacks (53 percent). Ensuring a
user-friendly experience across all security applications comes in last on
cyber security professionals’ list of priorities with only 40 percent
reporting it as a top concern.

As security measures become less user-friendly, they also become less
effective. Cyber security professionals estimate that almost half (49
percent) of all agency security breaches are caused by a lack of user
compliance. These breaches are frequent with half of cyber security
professionals reporting they witness a breach in their agency’s security
policies at least once a week. According to cyber security professionals,
the most challenging end user applications to secure are e-mail, external
websites, and the internet from agency work stations. These are the same
tools that more than 80 percent of end users rely on daily.

End users say cyber security measures hinder their productivity and as a
result, admit to breaking protocol. Sixty-six percent of end users believe
the security protocols at their agency are burdensome and time-consuming.
Sixty-nine percent say at least some portion of their work takes longer
than it should due to security measures. Nearly one in five end users can
recall an instance where they were unable to complete a work assignment on
time because of a security measure. As a result, 31 percent of end users
say they use some kind of security work around at least once a week.

Despite frustrations, end users and cyber security professionals agree that
cyber security should be a top priority for federal agencies. Ninety-five
percent of cyber security professionals and end users agree that the
deployment of cyber security measures is an absolute necessity to protect
agencies from cyber threats such as data loss, data theft, and
denial-of-service attacks. Almost all (98 percent) say keeping agency
networks and data secure is everyone’s responsibility.

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