Security Is Top Issue For Converged IP Deployments: Survey

Security is corporate executives' top priority for implementing converged IP networking, according to a new survey released by AT&T and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

With more than 60% of respondents expressing concern that online customer data processing might expose their organizations to potential security breaches, IP security has become a hot topic. Some 62% of companies surveyed plan to implement IP networking through most or all of their organizations within the next three years.

Though most of the executives surveyed believe that the majority of threats originate from within the organization, 89% identified viruses and worms as their primary security. Nevertheless, they appear optimistic that the risks from these kinds of malicious code can be contained. Only 83% expect viruses and worms to be the primary threat two years from now. However, there is growing concern about the predations of hackers and crackers. Some 57% of respondents identified hackers and corporate espionage as a top threat, double what it was two years ago.

"The new capabilities of the ubiquitous network are great for commerce, but open a whole new dimension of risk," AT&T vice president of managed security services Stan Quintana said in a statement. "A multi-layered approach to security is required."

Indeed, AT&T and EIU report that organizations are willing to put the necessary resources into security to meet the threats. The survey found that network security spending has stabilized at about 15% of IT budgets.