Midlands companies are trailing the rest of the world when it comes to their planned spending on information security, according to sector specialists at PwC.

According to PwC's 8th annual Global State of Information Security Survey, conducted in conjunction with CIO and CSO magazines, less than a third (31%) of UK companies plan to increase spending on information security over the next year, compared to just over half (52%) of the overall global respondents.

This is despite the fact that 60% of UK companies said economic conditions and the increased number of threats continue to drive information security spending. The survey, the largest of its kind, sampled some 13,000 executives and information security professionals around the world, with 640 polled in the UK.

Neil Ward, information security specialist at PwC in the Midlands, commented:

"In the post-recessionary climate, it is perhaps not too surprising that Midlands businesses are less willing to spend on security. Yet such spending restraints could seriously undermine the ability of organisations to protect their most sensitive data."

Outsourcing and supply chain concerns are also identified as significant drivers of security spending by the survey, with the UK out of step with the global trend. A larger proportion of UK respondents said their business partners (68%) and suppliers (66%) had been weakened by economic conditions.

Globally, the survey notes that over the last four years the business impact of security breaches - including financial losses, brand and reputational damage - have more than tripled in some cases (up by as much as 233%). 

In the UK, rising levels of breaches are creating a growing recognition that security's strategic value needs to be more closely aligned with the business than with IT. One outcome of this has been the shift in the reporting channel of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) towards key decision-makers like the CEO and CFO rather than the Chief Information Officer (CIO). 

As if protecting data across applications, networks and mobile devices wasn't complex enough, social networking is presenting companies with a new frontier of risk. Few, however, are adequately prepared to counter this threat. In the UK, only 32% of organisations have implemented the necessary technologies needed to facilitate the secure use of social networking and other Web 2.0 sites. 

Neil Ward, information security specialist at PwC in the Midlands, continued:

"Lack of focus on social networking can expose organisations to a variety of risks, including loss or leakage of information, damage to a company's reputation, illegal downloading of pirated material and identity theft. Social networking will increasingly play a significant role in how business gets done and the real challenge will be how to securely integrate the use of social networking technologies into traditional operating models."