IT Security Is a Top Challenge for Firms around the World

A recent survey conducted by Protiviti and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), found that cyber security, privacy issues, infrastructure management and emerging technologies rank as the top IT challenges facing organizations today.

The annual survey—A Global Look at IT Audit Best Practices—gathered responses from over 1,000 IT audit professionals and focused on emerging technology, IT implementation, audits, risk assessments and hiring practices. Respondents were asked to name their greatest technology or business challenges.

The following were the top 10 responses:

1. IT security, privacy and cyber security
2. Infrastructure management
3. Emerging technology and infrastructure changes
4. Resource, staffing and skills challenges
5. Regulatory compliance
6. Budgets and controlling costs
7. Cloud computing and virtualization
8. Bridging IT and the business
9. Project management and change management
10. Third-party and vendor managementIn order to protect themselves and stay current on emerging risks, experts recommend that organizations continually review the IT risk landscape and adjust IT audit plans accordingly.

The survey also found that, while 90 per cent of large organizations conducted an IT audit risk assessment, only a little more than half of them did so on an annual basis.

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