Hackers Clobbering Carriers?

The survey consisted of interviews with senior security officers from 100 of the top global financial institutions, including 10 of the top 50 global insurers ranked by 2002 financial assets, said a spokesman for Deloitte.

"Financial institutions are fighting an ongoing battle to combat and mitigate ever-increasing security threats and attacks, and privacy violations, as well as comply with the increasingly stringent regulatory environment," said Ted DeZabala, a principal and national leader of Security Services for Deloitte.

"These institutions are under increased pressure to deliver a secure environment while also providing greater consumer access. There is a very fine balance between meeting such demands while maintaining the level of security needed to prevent and manage attacks," Mr. DeZabala added.

Despite the reported doubling of security attacks, more than a quarter of financial institutions said their security budgets remained flat, while nearly 10 percent had their budgets slashed from the previous year, the company said.

The survey also showed declining use of security technologies, Deloitte noted. With more than 70 percent of respondents stating they believed viruses and worms to be the greatest threat to their systems within the next year, 87 percent of respondents said they have fully deployed anti-virus measures. This result is down from a response rate of 96 percent from last year's survey.

There was, however, encouraging news. Financial institutions responding showed improved regulatory compliance efforts, with two-thirds indicating they now have a program for managing privacy, compared to 56 percent of respondents in 2003, the company stated. In addition, nearly 70 percent felt that senior management is committed to security projects needed to address regulatory requirements.

The survey, conducted in face-to-face interviews by Deloitte's Global Financial Services Industry practice, focused on senior information technology executives (chief information officer, chief security officer, security management team, etc.) from 100 of the top global financial services organizations, said Deloitte.

The questions, developed by the firm's Security Services Group, related to governance, investment, value, risk, responsiveness, use of security technologies, quality of operations and privacy.

Survey respondents represented public and private companies from all continents, including Canada, the United States, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Asia/Pacific and Latin America.

In addition to the insurers, the 100 organizations surveyed included 31 of the top 100 global financial services institutions, ranked by 2002 financial assets, and 23 of the top 100 global banks, ranked by Tier-1 Capital 2002, the company said.

Deloitte, a professional services firm, provides audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services through nearly 30,000 people in more than 80 U.S. cities.