Last week’s poll: Priorities for improving internet security

What last week’s poll lacked in votes (311) was more than made up for in Comments, where the debate raged over who is responsible for internet security.

The poll was prompted by the worldwide “WannaCry” cyberattack that saw numerous institutions, including the NHS, under attack from unknown actors demanding monies to be paid in Bitcoins.

As was noted, these attacks almost always come without warning and there appears to be widespread agreement that money needs to be spent to help prevent malware and hacking from damaging valuable and safety-critical systems and putting them out of action. There doesn’t, however, appear to be clear consensus on the most important target for such investment.

A total of 49% of readers agreed that the solution lies in improving skills, followed by 43 per cent who think that software is first line of defence. The remaining eight per cent was split evenly between those that chose hardware and none of the above.