Institute offers handy "how-to" for preventing security breaches
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 6/30/2008 6:00:00 AM
Researchers with Ponemon Institute, an education organization seeking to advance information and privacy management practices, reports 85 percent of IT executives and security officers say their businesses have experienced at least one known occurrence of a data security breach.
The problem is that those files often contain key information, including addresses, Social Security numbers, and driver's license data. Others experience breaches that compromise their credit card or bank account numbers.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), companies need to assess the vulnerability of each Internet connection to commonly known or reasonably foreseeable attacks. For many of them—especially small one—this can be a challenge, as they don’t count with a large IT department to handle this type of audit.
“Every company has an area of specialty, and most likely it’s not their Internet security. Teaming up with a Web site security scanning company takes the headache of searching out for vulnerabilities. The company gets to go on doing what it does best, monitor for potential risks,” says Brad Anderson, president of Fruition Security.
According to study out of Oak Brook, Ill.-based Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), IT professionals reported increasing their spending on security technology, training, and certifications. A study by Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research explained that the information security breaches cost between $90 to $305 per lost record.
Companies like Fruition provide a security blanket to protect their Web site. They conduct systematic security scans that cover common vulnerabilities. By doing this, the company’s network is defended, which is a more cost-efficient route than hiring someone to handle the same task.
“There’s nothing like a company having an extra blanket of security that is visible to all their customers. It is peace of mind that cannot be underestimated,” concludes Anderson.
