Data protection: 50% Indian companies lack critical parameter, says survey

As data becomes a sought-after commodity, with some business leaders calling it as the new oil, a survey has found nearly half of Indian companies to be lacking on the critical parameter of data protection.

Apart from that, companies also seem to be lacking on proper storage of sensitive data, the survey by digital security firm Gemalto has said.

"48 per cent of IT professionals in India believe their organisations are failing to carry out all procedures in line with data protection laws," it said.

It added that only 48 per cent companies know where all of their sensitive data is stored.

Even as companies make a beeline for accumulating data, the survey said 45 per cent of the organisations cannot analyse or categorise all the consumer data they store.

"If businesses can't analyse all of the data they collect, they can't understand the value of it and that means they won't know how to apply the appropriate security controls to that data," Gemalto's chief technology officer for data protection, Jason Hart, said.

Over 1,000 IT decision makers and 10,500 consumers were surveyed worldwide as part of the survey, it said.

Hart said unsecure data is a "goldmine for hackers" and can be sold online on the 'dark web', manipulated for financial gain or for damaging reputations.

The survey said 67 per cent respondents believe unauthorised users can access their corporate networks, even as a majority 57 per cent said that perimeter security is effective at keeping unauthorised users out.