Study Finds Disconnect Between Agency Leaders, IT Teams on Data Security

Forty percent of senior officials and another 66 percent of middle managers said they are confident about the security posture at their agencies, according to a study by Acronis SCS and Market Connections.

Data also showed that only about a third of government information technology or technical professionals feel positive about edge data security at their agencies, Acronis SCS  said Wednesday.

The findings were based on a survey of 200 decision-makers at federal civilian and defense organizations.

Seventy-nine percent of senior executives deemed themselves knowledgeable on cybersecurity at the network edge, while only 29 percent from the IT employees reported likewise.

The survey also showed that 48 percent of executives think that backup processes will protect edge data and only 25 percent from the IT staff agreed with the response.

"For any agency, lack of confidence from IT or security staff should raise red flags," said John Zanni, CEO of Acronis SCS.

"From the top down, agencies need to take a closer look at how they are protecting their datasets, and what tools and processes might need updating," Zanni added.