International perspectives on information security practices: opinions, preferences and tools in the financial services industry

This study, commissioned by McAfee, considered that computer security is much more than the application of anti-viral patches and checks on data integrity, such that it is integral to the core of all information-intensive businesses. Drawing on the full range of disciplines that contribute to social studies of information systems management, a research methodology was devised that would focus particularly on the banking and financial services sectors, making it possible to capture attitudes and behaviours that not only affect the very largest and most influential firms in the European economy, but also to focus on a community of Chief Information Officers (CIOs). By concentrating on two leading banking and financial services' firms in each of four European countries, including Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, the research team were able to successfully gauge the attitudes and likely behaviours of CIOs with regard to information systems security software in the near future.