Smith Researchers Find Virus Attacks are the Leading Culprit of Financial Loss among U.S. Companies

Drs. Lawrence A. Gordon and Martin P. Loeb are part of the academic team from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business who assist the Computer Security Institute (CSI) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with their Annual Computer Crime and Security Survey. Now in its eleventh year, the just-released survey is considered by many -- if not most -- experts in the field of computer security to be the most influential survey. Gordon is the Ernst & Young Alumni Professor of Managerial Accounting and Information Assurance as well as the director of the PhD program at Smith and Loeb is a professor of accounting and information assurance and Deloitte & Touche LLP Faculty Fellow. William Lucyshyn, from the Maryland's School of Public Policy is the third member of the academic team. As noted by Gordon, It is an honor to be affiliated with the CSI and FBI on this important project. 

The following are among the key findings from this years Computer Security Report:

• Virus attacks are the leading culprit of financial loss among U.S. companies.
• Companies continue to resist reporting computer crimes.
• Government mandates and compliance issues continue to be a hot topic within the IT departments of companies. In particular, the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on information security is substantial.
• Security outsourcing is not that prevalent within U.S. companies.
• There is a substantial increase in the respondents' perception of the importance of security awareness training. On average, respondents from most sectors do not believe their organizations invest enough in this area.

The complete 2006 CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey is available for download for free on the CSI Web site at http://www.gocsi.com/. For questions and/or comments concerning this survey, you can contact Dr. Gordon at: lgordon@rhsmith.umd.edu.