Tech Club: Can You Keep Secure On A Tight Budget?

Money is still tight, whatever the economists say, and IT budgets have taken a hit. But how will this affect security provisions? We’re meeting up with readers to research and discuss the issue.

Most organisations budget for security – but how much should they put aside? Sometimes, only a near miss can convince the decision-makers that it’s time to spend money on blocking attacks. But when you have a security budget, what do you spend it on? Which are the priorities, and what happens to items that are further down the list? Join us on 6 November in London to talk about it – and tell us what you think beforehand in our survey.

Can you afford it?

Security is a necessity – but one which does not generate a conventionally-measurable return. Some industries have specific requirements for security measures, but beyond that, and in other sectors, it’s up to you where to put your security spending.

Antivirus and firewall are basics, and mobile device controls have become crucial. The arrival of smartphones, the cloud and social media have vastly increased the attack surface for phishing and data theft.

If you have to choose between one measure and another, which order do you put them in? And which are the measures you simply will not operate without having in place?

We’re planning an evening to discuss this, over drinks in London’s Soho on 6 November. We aim to go into a little more depth than our usual Tech Club sessions, and all comments will be off the record – since security is a somewhat sensitive subject.

Before the event, we’re taking a survey, to set the start-level of the discussion. Again, we’ll take your name so we can invite you , but we’re not writing up your stories, if you want to tell them.

To join us, sign up for Tech Club here.

Our Security on a Shoestring survey is here.