The Business Intelligence Blog

If you go solely by top-level stats on encryption use, you’ll come away feeling pretty secure–86% of the the 499 business technology professionals responding to our InformationWeek Analytics State of Encryption Survey employ encryption of some type. But that finding doesn’t begin to tell the real story. Only 14% of respondents say encryption is pervasive in their organizations. Database table-level encryption is in use by just 26%, while just 38% encrypt data on mobile devices. And 31%–more than any other response–characterize the extent of their use as just enough to meet regulatory requirements.

The reasons for this dismal state of affairs range from cost and integration challenges to entrenched organizational resistance exacerbated by a lack of leadership. The compliance focus is particularly galling. Encrypting a subset of data amounts to a “get-out-of-jail-free card” because it may relieve companies from having to notify customers of a breach. But knowingly doing the bare minimum to check a compliance box isn’t security; it’s a cop-out.

From an interesting post.