Mary Meeker of KPCB Sounds the Cyber Security Alarm

With the release of her annual report this week, veteran internet analyst and Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker sounded the alarm on the state of cyber security.

Meeker’s reports are essentially the bible to investors and entrepreneurs in the space.  The report contains valuable data on everything from mobile to emerging markets, but the slides on cyber security are of particular importance this year.  The slides are included below and here are the highlights for startups:

• Human error is the biggest cause of data breach.  If you read this blog, this should not come as a surprise though.
• Despite this, most organizations fail to update their policies around information security or breach response.
• The growth of mobile has given rise to the serious growth of mobile data breaches.

Combining the first two bullets means one thing: all companies need to think hard about their information security policies, internally and externally.  Sloppy internal management of employee behavior can get companies in big trouble.  It’s important to have a couple basic items in place:  a breach response / business continuity plan, information security privacy policy, technical “checks and balances” on user authorization internally and externally, and a good cyber security insurance policy as a backstop.

All companies, from startups to fortune 500 behemoths, need to take cyber security very seriously.

 

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