China businesses report more information security incidents: survey

Chinese companies reported more information security breaches over the 12 months ending June as a result of challenges brought about by fast-growing Internet technology, a PWC survey said Tuesday.

There were, on average, 2,577 security incidents detected by respondents on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong over the 12 months ending June, up from 1,254 a year ago and 241 in 2014, the global consulting firm said.

Although rising rapidly, the figure is much lower than the global average of 4,782.

PwC China senior manager of risk assurance Ryan Hao Yao attributed the sharp increase to the wide application of new technology. "While creating business opportunities, new technology also reshaped the landscape of Internet security and caused problems that had not been spotted before."

The Internet of things (IoT) appeared to be a case in the point. The survey found IoT to be a leading target of cyberattacks as 42.7 percent of all security incidents were in this area, up from 24.7 percent year on year.

Most IoT smart devices are inexpensive and easily accessible, and lack mature defense mechanisms, as a result they are considered vulnerable targets, Yao said.

Despite the situation, surveyed companies cut their spending in security software and other defense tools due to tightened purse strings amid the gloomy global economic climate.

PwC advised businesses to take steps to develop their security systems, including the adoption of cloud computing and open source software, in response to the real and rising treat of cyber risks.

"Companies [must] ensure their technology can keep up with the growing cyber security threats," said Samuel Sinn, cyber security and privacy partner at PwC China.

The annual survey by PwC covered 440 business and IT security executives from China, more than one third of respondent companies had annual revenues of over 1 billion U.S. dollars. Endi