A Computer Security Risk Analysis of Firms Quoted in the Nairobi Stock Exchange

Abstract

As computer Iiteracy trend continues to grow, and there is no reason to bel ieve that it won't, the statistical number of people capable of computer crime will increase substantially. While this fact paints a pretty grim picture of the future of information systems security, there is no need to get paranoid since the body , of knowledge currently available is adequate to deal with to deal with these problems.

This study aims to determine the security posture of firms quoted on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Out of a total of 54 companies only 34 responded to the questionnaires. This can be attributed to the fact that the study focused on security, which is a sensitive area.

This study had three basic objectives, these are:

1. To determine the current status of Information Technology resources within the organizations.

2. To determine the extent to which these organization's information systems are exposed to computer security risks. 3. To determine if there are sectoral differences with regard to exposure to computer security risks.

To meet these objectives data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed using various statistical tools including descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and discriminant analysis.

The findings of the study suggested that most of the organizations have made heavy investments in Information Technology. However very few have an Information Technology professional at the executive board level. ,- i

The findings of this study also indicates that the Finance and Investments sector and the Commercial and

Allied sector have the most secure systems since their vulnerability levels to the susceptibilities

considered in this study are all acceptable. The Agricultural sector has the most insecure system compared with the other sectors and is susceptible to six vulnerability