Telus Corp. (TSX:T) has found that Canadian companies experienced a 29% increase in security breaches from 2009 to 2010.
But the findings are not necessarily a reflection of more hackers but, rather, improvements in security technologies that allow businesses to detect more digital invasions.
And while more breaches are being reported, the study, which Telus conducted with the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, found that security breaches are costing companies exponentially less.
The annual cost of security breaches was $179,508 in 2010 compared with $834,000 in 2009.
Government entities appear to be experiencing twice the number of breaches than companies in the private sector, posting an almost 74% increase in one year.
Telus said the increase is attributable to the proliferation of detection and response systems.
And while social networking sites are increasingly a security concern for firms, the study found that organizations that block social networks like Facebook and Twitter experience no improvement in security and could make matters worse as employees attempt to circumvent blocks.
Walid Hejazi, a professor of business economics at Rotman, recommended instilling a sense of trust and educating employees on how to engage with such sites appropriately rather than blocking social networks,
Yogen Appalraju, vice-president, Telus’ security solutions, said organizations are experiencing more focused attacks.
“There needs to be continued, proactive investment in security to reduce the number of breaches, to minimize costs to organizations and most importantly, to mitigate the risk to sensitive corporate data.”