The official launch of 'Data Breaches: Trends, Costs and Best Practices', the first in a new series of best practice reports from IT Governance, has taken place yesterday. Organisations are provided by this new study with up-to-the-minute insights into the current state of data breaches globally, and guidance on the best practice responses that help organisations to comply with international data protection regulations and avoid operational, financial and reputational damage.

Aimed at compliance managers, auditors, executives, risk managers, information security managers, stakeholders and data controllers worldwide, 'Data Breaches: Trends, Costs and Best Practices' is a timely and authoritative report. It recognises the real, damaging trends that affect organisations and individuals; assesses the true state of today's data breach environment; and identifies current and emerging best practices in controlling the risks and costs arising from inadequate data security.

IT Governance polled, as part of its research for this report, 130 technology and compliance professionals on issues concerning the security of personal information. Some of the best informed professionals in this area, were included between the respondents, as evidenced by the high proportion of organisations with independently certified data security measures. The survey findings included, as recently announced, the following facts:

    * In order to do their jobs, suggesting that their managers are failing to implement policies that strike the correct balance between the confidentiality and availability of information, sixty-eight percent of employees admit to bypassing their employers' information security controls.
    * Over 80 percent of organisations have a data controller or someone responsible for maintaining privacy, and 82 percent have clear policies and procedures for protecting personal data; however, only 55 percent of employees handling personal data have been trained in their legal responsibilities in respect of this information.