Only 6% of IT directors in government departments would
invest in security if their budget was increased, according to a
Citrix Government Forum survey released at
Infosecurity Europe 2009 in
London.
This is in sharp contrast to a similar study in 2008, in which
59% of government organisations rated security as a top
priority.
"The focus has shifted to achieving cost-effective IT through
shared services and technologies such as virtualisation," Chris
Mayers, security architect at Citrix Systems, told Computer
Weekly.
The survey found that almost half the respondents would use any
extra budget on shared services, while one in four said they would
invest in virtualisation and mobile working.
According to Mayers, most government departments have already
made the necessary investmentin security technology.
He said the spate of
high-profile data breaches pushed
security to the top of the public sector IT agenda last year,
but now that technology is being put to work.
"With the country in recession, organisations have had to
re-assess spending priorities. This year, government organisations
are focusing on making IT more efficient," he said.
However, Mayers warned that organisations cannot afford to
forget about security because
threats are evolving all the time.
"Right now, no one can afford to put their business at risk and
the public have the right to feel that personal information held by
government departments is properly protected," he said.
Infosecurity Europe 2009: an essential guide for IT
professionals