Businesses Recognize Importance of Protecting Customer Data, But Struggle to Address It, Survey Suggests

Businesses are really starting to recognize the importance of protecting customer data, but are still struggling to implement effective digital security technologies, suggests new ForgeRock-sponsored research from Forrester Consulting.

The firm conducted its research this past April, polling 400 decision makers across the US, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, and China. It found that 75 percent of respondents called protecting customers’ privacy “a competitive differentiator,” according to a report summary; and 79 percent said privacy is “a critical overall business priority.” Organizations that have implemented sophisticated “Customer Identity and Access Management” (or “CIAM”) systems were also 20 to 52 percent more likely to say that their security systems were helping their company to attain its main objectives.

That all sounds like good news, but there is still a considerable gap privacy and security ambitions and business realities. Only 48 percent of respondents said their organization has a dedicated CIAM system in place, and 57 percent reported that senior managers were concerned that their security was not strong enough to support AI and Internet of Things deployments. Fifty-one percent said that their organizations “find it difficult to both store and secure” data collected through the IoT.

That all suggests that while businesses certainly appear to see the value of digital security in protecting customer data, their use of solutions is restricted. Still, there are some encouraging signs: A majority of businesses – 62 percent – said they use two-factor authentication, according to the research; and 48 percent said they use biometric authentication, a number that is surely going to climb as such technologies continue to proliferate across consumer devices and enterprise infrastructure.

The full study is available from ForgeRock’s website.

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September 18, 2018 – by Alex Perala