4.00pm
New Zealand businesses are taking internet security seriously but need to work harder in some areas, according to a survey released today.
The NetSafe Internet Security survey, conducted by business software maker MYOB and non-profit agency the internet Safety Group (ISG), surveyed around 2000 businesses to assess a range of online security measures.
ISG director Liz Butterfield said one area the survey showed was in need of work was the implementation of an acceptable use policy.
Only 45 per cent of respondents had such a policy, which governs the use of the internet and computers in the workplace.
"We need to clearly articulate why such policies and procedures are essential and what they should contain, in order to promote both workplace safety and information security," Ms Butterfield said.
MYOB general manager David Lowe said several other areas where education was needed were also exposed by the survey.
"In particular the survey showed that the majority of businesses didn't regularly change their administrator password and, although most backed up their system, almost half didn't regularly test the backup," he said.
He said the survey showed New Zealand businesses were heeding security warnings about potential risks to their computer systems, but that it was important to maintain education and support for these businesses as threats become increasingly sophisticated.
Over 70 per cent of respondents had installed a firewall and 98 per cent had anti-virus software -- which 71 per cent of respondents said they had updated the previous week.
Only a quarter of the businesses surveyed had experienced a computer failure or loss of data over the past year. Large businesses were more likely to have experienced a systems failure, with 46 per cent of surveyed businesses with more than 50 employees reporting a crash in the past 12 months.
Unsolicited junk mail -- or spam -- was a major annoyance for 22 per cent of businesses surveyed, but only 4 per cent of respondents said it was seriously interfering with their business online.
The majority of businesses estimated that less than 10 per cent of their daily email traffic was spam, with only 7 per cent reporting that unsolicited junk emails made up well over half of their daily traffic.
- NZPA
Businesses taking internet safety seriously
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