Who handles security at your company? Survey says: Network administrator

by Loraine Lawson | Jan 23, 2001 8:00:00 AM

Tags: Loraine Lawson

Takeaway: More than 200 TechRepublic members responded to a recent survey asking who handles security at their company. See how your company compares.

Network and system administrators are the primary security caretakers, according to the 201 TechRepublic members who responded to a recent survey. (See “Survey shows going rates for security experts.”)


The survey asked members who handles network security at their company and provided six choices, including "None of the above." As the graph shows, most respondents indicated that they rely on network or systems administrators. However, 16 percent said that their company has a security administrator and another 15 percent said that a security officer handles network security.

Why the difference? It could be price. According to a recent System Administration, Networking, and Security Institute (SANS) survey, network and system administrators are paid about $2,000 to $5,000 less than a security administrator.

Only 3.5 percent of our survey respondents said they outsource security. Those who answered "None of the above" were asked to briefly describe who was responsible for their company’s network security. The responses included:

• Company president
• IT/IS manager
• A partner who does IT work but is not trained in security
• Network architect
• Systems consultant
• CIO/CTO/director of technology
• Network analyst
• Security manager/director
• Company does not have a fail-safe security plan in place

At first glance, the results of this survey would appear to indicate that companies are relying on existing personnel to handle security, rather than hiring a specialist. Do you think this small survey reflects what's really going on in IT? Share your opinion by posting a comment below.