How to stop wasting money on security shelfware

Shelfware is the big security problem that no one wants to talk about. Loosely defined as technology that remains unused, underutilized or implemented incorrectly, it is the elephant in the room for many chief information security officers (CISOs).

A 2015 survey by Osterman Research, sponsored by Trustwave, illustrated just how bad the problem is. In a report of 172 small-, medium- and large-sized enterprises, researchers found that those investing in new security controls often ended up underutilizing the technologies in which they just invested — or simply not using them at all.

Osterman found this to be true with at least 30 percent of the respondents. In some companies, survey respondents said nearly 30 percent of all new security investments were not being used at all or were underutilized. One company surveyed said 60 percent of its security software was shelfware.

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