Symantec has released Indian Financial Services Industry 2011 report. The findings close on the heels of the ensuing deadline for banks to comply with RBI (Reserve Bank of India) guidelines, reveal regulatory and governance mandates as a key driver of IT security for 50 percent of financial services enterprises. Increasing e-commerce and mobile transactions were identified by one in five enterprises as another reason for increased adoption of security.
Financial services enterprises face significant financial losses due to security breaches, with the average loss being Rs. 6.86 crore (Rs. 68.6 million). This figure was nearly double for Indian banks, at Rs 12.6 crore (Rs. 126 million). Sixty-seven percent of respondents that experienced a data breach lost man hours, and 61 percent stated that they had lost customers as a result. More than 80 percent of respondents have faced downtime due to online attacks, and took an average of four hours to resume normal operations.
Ajay Goel, MD, India and SAARC, Symantec said, "CIOs at financial services enterprises in India are concerned about the security of their information and related losses, leading to crucial attention towards IT governance. RBI guidelines, the impending Basel III compliance and the IT (Amendment) Act 2008 regulations are compelling the financial sector to take a close look at how they secure and manage their information."
