BANGALORE : A new report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Sharing the blame: How companies are collaborating on data security breaches, shows that such breaches occur at a high rate at companies in Asia.

A survey of over 200 senior executives in Asia conducted for the report, which is sponsored by Akamai Technologies, shows only 35percent of Asian companies are confident that they have not had a data breach in the past year. 40percent of businesses also say they have experienced significant economic loss as a result of compromised data systems, with financial services firms the worst hit.

Despite lapses in data security, corporate executives are not blaming their own IT departments. In fact, 85percent of companies in Asia believe their own IT security systems are trustworthy. And 47percent of business leaders agree that collaborating with industry by increasing the disclosure of breaches when they happen can minimise damage. However, collaboration remains rare, with companies unwilling to disclose the occurrence of customer information breaches with the media or competitors.

Charles Ross, the editor of the report said, “Datasets held in the private sector in Asia are far from secure – and data security is firmly on the agenda of corporate executives in the region. But to make data more secure, companies need to be willing to collaborate with rivals and lay bare their weaknesses so that they, and everyone else, can learn from them. This is recognised as part of the solution, but the problem is that companies are waiting for each other to take the first steps”.

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