2015 is set to see a huge rise in the number of IT professionals taking action to address insider threat in their organisations, according to new research. Currently 43 per cent of IT professionals in the UK have an insider threat programme already in place, and 36 per cent are planning to put one in place this year. A further eight per cent are planning an insider threat programme within five years.

The research, which saw IS Decisions survey 250 IT professionals in the UK and 250 in the US, found that combatting insider threat is high on their agenda following a string of high-profile internal security breaches. An average of 37 per cent across the two countries are planning an insider threat programme this year.

The research also found that IT professionals are spending more on security in general, with the proportion of IT budgets spent on security increasing by a third in the last year. “2014 was dubbed by many as the ‘year of the breach’,” said François Amigorena, CEO of IS Decisions. “We kept seeing big-name businesses hitting the news as a result of major internal security breaches week after week.