This is probably the best time ever to do a blog on cyber security, being that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. I don't think American businesses are reacting to security threats simply because President Obama designated this month as a time to think about security, but a recent survey by Deloitte shows cyber security has caught their attention.

In the 2012 Global Financial Services Industry Security Survey, Deloitte asked businesses if there had been an increase in their information security budget. Of the seven sectors surveyed—Asia Pacific (excluding Japan); Japan; Europe Middle East and Africa (excluding the UK); Latin America and the Caribbean; United Kingdom; United States; and Canada)—the U.S. far and away led the pack as 94 percent of financial services companies reported increased security budgets. (An amazing number from the survey: Only 14 percent of respondents from Japan report an increase in information security budgets.)

So, there is either an increased awareness of cyber security in the U.S. or this country is way behind the rest of the world. You could insert another lame joke about the insurance industry being behind the times, but I should point out that these numbers are for the entire financial services industry and insurers made up just 18 percent of the total respondents.