67% of French Organisations Hit By One or More Data Breach Incidents Within Last...

67% of French Organisations Hit By One or More Data Breach Incidents Within
Last Twelve Months
Research from Ponemon Institute Reveals that only 9 Percent of Respondents
have an Overall Encryption Plan or Strategy Applied Consistently across the
Enterprise

PARIS and MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- PGP Corporation, a
global leader in enterprise data protection, has announced the results of its
inaugural annual study by The Ponemon Institute, identifying the steps French
organisations are taking in order to safeguard their confidential data. The
2009 Annual Study: France Enterprise Encryption Trends study, which polled 414
IT security professionals at enterprises and public sector organisations,
found that 67 percent of French organisations have been hit by at least one
data breach incident within the last year, with 18 percent having been hit by
more than five incidents. A massive 92 percent of the data breaches were
never disclosed as there was no legal or regulatory requirement to do so.
Despite the large number of data breach incidents, 71 percent responded that
data protection was a 'very important' or 'important' part of their risk
management strategy, with protecting sensitive or confidential information in
motion (transfer) or at rest (storage) their top priority.

"It is very encouraging to see that 71 percent of respondents view data
protection as a critical part of their overall risk management plan," said Dr
Larry Ponemon, Chairman and founder of The Ponemon Institute. "However, the
low percentage of French organisations having an overall encryption strategy
in place or using a platform approach to encryption suggests that there are
still considerable improvements to be made. The focus for 2010 needs to be on
applying a strategic approach to data security across the enterprise."

The following provides an overview of the key findings of the 2009 France
Encryption Trends report:
-- Only 9 percent of organisations have an overall encryption plan or
strategy that is applied consistently across the entire enterprise.
Forty-five percent have no encryption plan or strategy whatsoever
while
the remaining 46 percent adjust their encryption plan to fit different
applications and data types, or use encryption for certain types of
sensitive/confidential information such as social security numbers or
credit card accounts.
-- Encryption is primarily used to comply with privacy or data security
regulations (65 percent) or to limit the brand and reputation damage
linked to data breaches (43 percent). With regard to the regulations
and
regulatory bodies most influential in organisations' decision to
implement encryption, the French Data Protection Commission and French
National Privacy Law come out on top with 66 percent and 62 percent
respectively. International regulations such as Sarbanes Oxley have a
very minor impact (4 percent).
-- Eleven percent of organisations use a platform approach to managing
encryption solutions across the enterprise. Eight-two percent of
these
organisations believe the encryption platform increases the
effectiveness and efficiency of their IT security programme. Reduced
operational costs, consistent policy enforcement across applications
and
integration with third-party encryption applications were specifically
listed as the primary benefits.
-- Fifty-six percent of respondents use encryption technology at some
level
and the remaining 44 percent are in the process of introducing it.
Encryption is most widely used to protect data on databases, VPNs and
file servers. Mainframe and USB flash drive encryption are the least
deployed applications.
-- Seventy-one percent of organisations have a fully executed or just
launched implementation of data archive and e-discovery systems
programme. The figure is just slightly lower for the implementation of
network-based data leak detection and prevention technologies (70
percent). More than half of respondents (58 percent) have just
launched
or fully executed an endpoint device control technology.
-- Sixty-seven percent of respondents revealed that they had been hit by
at
least one data breach in the past 12 months. Of the companies that
experienced 2 to 5 or more than 5 data breach incidents, none of them
had implemented a company-wide strategy governing the use of data
encryption technologies.
-- A majority of respondents (58 percent) believe the ability to install
a
management infrastructure once, and then add additional encryption
applications as needed is 'very important' or
'important'. Other important features include the automation
of key encryption management activities (55 percent) and enforcement
of
encryption policy across all applications.
-- Encryption solutions are seen as a security priority for 39 percent of
respondents. 29 percent also indicate that key management for
encryption
solutions is earmarked amongst the security initiatives in the current
budget and accounts for just over 21 percent of overall spending on
encryption

-- Forty-five percent of respondents consider loss or theft of
confidential
or sensitive data one of the major security threats of the next 12 to
24
months. Despite this, 68 percent do not encrypt sensitive or
confidential information on mobile data-bearing devices such as PDAs
and
smartphones, only 4 percent use encryption on USB flash keys and 47
percent are 'unsure' or 'not confident' about their
ability to protect confidential or sensitive information in motion.

"The Ponemon data demonstrates that compliance and fear of reputational or
brand damage are driving French organizations to prioritize data protection,"
commented Phillip Dunkelberger, president and CEO of PGP Corporation.
"Encryption solutions, when coherently and consistently applied across the
enterprise to confidential and sensitive information, can protect data at
rest, in motion and in use."

For more information or to receive a complete copy of this study, visit:
www.encryptionreports.com

About The Ponemon Institute
The Ponemon Institute is dedicated to advancing responsible information and
privacy management practices in business and government. To achieve this
objective, the Institute conducts independent research, educates leaders from
the private and public sectors and verifies the privacy and data protection
practices of organisations in a variety of industries.

About PGP Corporation
PGP Corporation is a global leader in email and data encryption software for
enterprise data protection. Based on a unified key management and policy
infrastructure, the PGP(R) Encryption Platform offers the broadest set of
integrated applications for enterprise data security. PGP(R) platform-enabled
applications allow organisations to meet current needs and expand as security
requirements evolve for email, laptops, desktops, instant messaging,
smartphones, network storage, file transfers, automated processes, and
backups.

PGP(R) solutions are used by more than 100,000 enterprises, businesses, and
governments worldwide, including 95 percent of the Fortune 100, 75 percent of
the Fortune Global 100, 87 percent of the German DAX Index, and 51 percent of
the UK FTSE 100 Index. As a result, PGP Corporation has earned a global
reputation for innovative, standards-based, and trusted solutions. PGP
solutions help protect confidential information, secure customer data, achieve
regulatory and audit compliance, and safeguard companies' brands and
reputations. Contact PGP Corporation at www.pgp.com

Analyst and Media Contacts for PGP Corporation:
Carol Pender/Alexandra Radius
Johnson King
+33 (0)1 53 16 11 11
carolp@johnsonking.fr/alexandrar@johnsonking.fr

North America
Tom Rice
Merritt Group
+1 703 856 2218
rice@merrittgrp.com
United Kingdom
Jacqui Depares / Richard Scarlett
Johnson King
+44 (0) 20 7401 7968
pgpteam@johnsonking.co.uk
Germany
Ingrid Daschner
Johnson King
+49 (0) 89 8940 8511
ingridd@johnsonking.de

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SOURCE PGP Corporation

Carol Pender, carolp@johnsonking.fr, or Alexandra Radius,
alexandrar@johnsonking.fr, both of Johnson King, +33 (0)1 53 16 11 11; or
North America, Tom Rice of Merritt Group , +1-703-856-2218,
rice@merrittgrp.com; or United Kingdom, Jacqui Depares or Richard Scarlett,
both of Johnson King, +44 (0) 20 7401 7968, pgpteam@johnsonking.co.uk; or
Germany, Ingrid Daschner of Johnson King, +49 (0) 89 8940 8511,
ingridd@johnsonking.de, all for PGP Corporation