STONESOFT OYJ : Finnish C-level executives worried about cybercrime

Network security company Stonesoft publishes first Cybercrime Barometer

Helsinki, 7 May 2012 - Finnish C-level executives perceive the risks caused by cybercrime as significant, but feel their own business operations are not specifically under threat. This is the conclusion of Stonesoft's Cybercrime Barometer carried out by the market research company Taloustutkimus Oy to survey the perceptions of Finland's Top 500 companies' executive management regarding cybercrime risks to business operations.

Finnish executives are well aware of cybercrime risks. The barometer indicates that cybercrime risks are perceived by business executives to outweigh the risks related to product development, technology, the business environment and financing.

"Nevertheless, Finnish executives appear to have strong confidence in their companies' capacity to protect themselves from cybercrime. 91% of the respondents perceived their company's current protection as adequate," says Stonesoft CEO Ilkka Hiidenheimo.

According to the Stonesoft Cybercrime Barometer, over 40% of the respondents expect threats posed by cybercrime to increase at least somewhat in the next 12 months. 25% of the respondents estimated that the threats posed by cybercrime had increased in the past 12 months. Chief Information Security Officer, whose work is closely related to information security issues perceived cybercrime risks as higher than other respondents.

Loss of reputation considered the number one threat

Finnish executives perceive the primary risks caused by cybercrime to be related to reputation loss and problems involving customer data. The threat of cybercrime paralysing business operations was not perceived as realistic.
"Information systems are more and more becoming the foundation of all business operations. Thus, it is surprising and worrying that executives seem to ignore the possibility of cybercrime bringing a business to its knees. If check-out systems are offline, there won't be any sales and if the ERP system is down, the goods will stop moving," explains Stonesoft's Chief Information Security Officer Joona Airamo.

The barometer does indicate that Finnish businesses are taking steps to prepare themselves for threats. During the past 12 months, there has been a slight increase in investments in protection against cybercrime. The industries with the largest increases in protective measures are banking, finance and insurance. The majority of the respondents also expected to increase their investments in protection against cybercrime over the next 12 months.

Stonesoft's Cybercrime Barometer is based on a survey carried out in March 2012 by Taloustutkimus Oy, with a total of 200 respondents representing C-level, financial and IT management in Finnish Top 500 organizations.

Contact:

For more information, please contact:

Max Nyman
Senior Marketing Manager, Global Marketing
Stonesoft Corporation
Tel: 09 476 711
E-mail: max.nyman(AT)stonesoft.com

About Stonesoft

Stonesoft Corporation (NASDAQ OMX: SFT1V) delivers software based, dynamic and customer driven network security solutions that secure the information flow and simplify security management. The company's product portfolio consists of the industry's first transformable Security Engine:
http://securityengine.stonesoft.com/, standalone next generation firewalls and intrusion prevention systems, and SSL VPN solutions. At the core lies Stonesoft's Management Center which unifies the management of entire networks.

Stonesoft serves private and public sector organizations requiring high availability, ease of management, compliance, dynamic security and protection of their critical digital assets and business continuity against today's rapidly evolving cyber threats. Stonesoft is a recognized researcher of advanced evasion techniques used in targeted cyber attacks to bypass security.

Stonesoft has the highest customer retention rate in the industry due to low TCO, ease of management, and overall customer excellence. Stonesoft's customer base covers more than 4,000 mid- or large-sized organizations across various industries and geographical markets.

Founded in 1990, the company's track record is well recognized by certifiers, industry analysts and demanding customers. The company's corporate headquarters are based in Helsinki, Finland and North American headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit www.stonesoft.com:
http://www.stonesoft.com/.