IT security management role key

The need for a company to employ information security managers depends on the role data plays in an organisation and the size of the firm, it has been claimed.

Ian Fraser, marketing manager at the Institute of Risk Management, said information security managers should have an important role in terms of disaster recovery and preventing information loss.

"The role itself is important, but it can form part of another person's function, such as the risk manager, if the organisation is not big enough to justify the role full time," he added.

He went on to say it is vital for organisations to have clear processes, which are properly documented, suitably trained staff and an element of enforcement, so that what is supposed to happen takes place in practice.

According to Disaster Recovery Solutions, 20 per cent of all companies will suffer fire, theft, flood or storm damage, power failures, terrorism or hardware or software disaster at some.