CIOs perceive human error as the biggest threat to corporate email security in 2016

One in four CIOs, IT directors and IT managers from large businesses and SMEs cited human error, such as sending confidential data, as being the biggest threat to corporate email security, according to a recent survey.

External threats such as spear phishing and gateway attacks were considered a much lower threat, along with the risk of respondent’s partners or extended supply chains exposing corporate email vulnerabilities.

The survey also shows that one in five of businesses surveyed were also worried about the increased use of portable devices such as smart phones and tablets on the corporate network. Other key concerns included the use of external hardware such as USB sticks, with 17% of respondents acknowledging this as an issue and 16% concerned about spear phishing.

As a result, upgrading or improving email security protection was the key priority for respondents when thinking about updating their email solutions. This was followed by the desire to reduce or control their IT costs. Other priorities included being able to provide better support for mobility and BYOD schemes as well as the ability to quickly identify and minimize the number of external attacks faster.

The results are based on the answers of top managers – including CIOs, IT directors and IT managers – surveyed in June 2015.

To reduce the risks of data loss and breaches, here is a reminder of the top three measures CIOs should have in mind.