Small organizations confident they're secure, yet lack plans

A new study of small businesses shows that while a majority believe they have a good handle on protecting sensitive data, most lack back security measures, notably policies and procedures.

Eighty-six percent of the 1,015 businesses (250 employees or fewer) that were polled in the survey, commissioned by the National Cyber Security Alliance and security firm Symantec, said they are "satisfied" with the level of security they have in place to defend customer or employee data. And seventy-seventy percent believe their company is safe from breaches.

However, 87 percent of respondents have not written a formal security policy for employees, 83 percent lack any security blueprint at all and 59 percent have no plan in place to respond to a security incident.