January 26, 2016 - A global study of 3700 IT security practitioners conducted by the Ponemon Institute shows increasing risks to payment data and a lack of confidence in securing mobile transactions.

The research, conducted among more than a dozen major industry sectors on behalf of Gemalto, found that over half (54%) of those surveyed said their companies suffered a breach involving payment data an average of four times in past two years.

Moreover, 55% admitted that they did not know where all their payment data is stored or located, with data ownership residing in multiple silos.

The arrival of new payment methods in the form of mobile contactless transactions is a fresh cause for concern among those polled. While respondents say mobile payments account for just nine percent of all payments today, in two years they expect this to increase to 18% of all payments.

The study found that nearly three quarters (72%) of those surveyed believe these new payment methods are putting payment data at risk and 54% do not believe or are unsure their organisation's existing security protocols are capable of supporting these platforms.

Jean-Francois Schreiber, SVP for identity, data and software services at Gemalto, says: "The growing financial fallouts from data breaches and damages to corporate reputation and customer relationships can now carry even greater potential risk as newer payment methods gain adoption."