Many Business Leaders Do Not Trust Their Own Companies to Secure or Manage Sensitive Information, First-of-its-Kind International Survey Shows
BLUE BELL, Pa., November 15, 2006 – Business executives focus hard on revenue and the bottom line and increasingly devote resources to corporate governance and security matters. Yet, almost one in every three of the more than 1,700 senior-level corporate and technology leader respondents in a new international survey do not trust their companies’ own ability to handle private or sensitive information, and that same number are either unsure or don’t believe that most of their business partners consider them to be trusted enterprises.
These and other findings are part of a broad research project called the Unisys Trusted Enterprise Index, a first-of-its kind survey measuring the importance, impact and influence of trust, privacy and security within the corporate world. Conducted in partnership with the Ponemon Institute, a privacy research organization, the study also found that despite a growing awareness of risk management and security issues in the corporate world, more than one-third of companies polled do not task senior leaders with protecting the trust that customers, investors and even their own employees have in those companies.
“It concerns me to see the overall lack of preparedness among business leaders to monitor and protect the trust their companies have with customers, vendors and even employees, especially given how devastating a breach of trust is to a company’s reputation and bottom line,” said Mike Gibbons, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Security, Unisys.
“Of equal concern is the disconnect between business and IT executives over how to build a trusted organization,” Gibbons continued. “Trust must be the cornerstone of every risk management plan. All senior leaders must be aligned on how to measure trust and ensure complete visibility of IT security and privacy matters throughout their organizations. They must think about security and risk management as a proactive strategy that can build trust rather than as solely a defensive measure.”
Technology and Business Leaders Disagree
Business Leaders:
Technology Leaders:
Industries: Winners – and Losers
Geographically, the top three most and least trusted industries are:
Trust Builders
Factors that erode trust are not necessarily interchangeable. Unethical business practices, customer dissatisfaction, lack of respect for employees and customers and poor leadership are the top five factors that erode trust within an organization.
The research underscores that while more quantifiable factors such as compliance and financial performance tend to get the attention of boards and their leaders, “softer” factors that build trust - how a company treats customers or motivates employees – need equal attention.
About the Research
The research is part of a broader multi-year global initiative, the Unisys Trusted Enterprise Index. The Index will serve as a comprehensive tool for companies and governments to better redefine their own security and business processes for greater impact and visibility into the cause and effect relationships between business and technology goals. About Unisys Unisys is a worldwide information technology services and solutions company. We provide consulting, systems integration, outsourcing and infrastructure services, combined with powerful enterprise server technology. We specialize in helping clients use information to create efficient, secure business operations that allow them to achieve their business goals. Our consultants and industry experts work with clients to understand their business challenges and create greater visibility into critical linkages throughout their operations. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.
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