Much Security Spending Focused on Network Instead of Database: Survey

A new report shows that while the majority of enterprises believe a database security breach would be the greatest risk to their business, most IT security resources in today’s enterprises are aimed at protecting network assets.

The study, sponsored by Oracle, was performed by CSO Custom Solutions Group, and fielded responses from 110 companies from a number of verticals, including the tech industry, the financial industry and government. More than two-thirds of IT security resources are focused on protecting the network layer. Less than one-fourth of resources were allocated to protecting core systems like servers, applications and databases, according to the study.

Forty-four percent said they believed databases were safe because they were installed deep inside the perimeter.

“IT Security has to focus attention on the most strategic assets,” said Mary Ann Davidson, Chief Security Officer at Oracle, in a statement. “Organizations can’t continue to spend on the wrong risks and secure themselves out of business. When attackers do break through the perimeter, they can take advantage of weak security controls against the core systems by exploiting privileged user access, vulnerable applications, and accounts with excessive access. Organizations have to get the fundamentals right — which are database security, application security and identity management.”

Ninety percent of respondents reported the same or higher level of spending compared to 12 months prior. According to the survey, 59 percent of participants plan to increase security spending in the next year.  Forty percent of respondents believed that implementing fragmented point solutions created security gaps, while 42 percent believe that they have more difficulty preventing new attacks than in the past.

“The results of the survey show that the gap between the threat of severe damage to a database attack versus the resources allocated to protecting the database layer is significant, highlighting the disconnect in how organizations are securing their IT infrastructures,” said Tom Schmidt, Managing Editor, CSO Custom Solutions Group, in a statement.