|
contents | technologies | |||||||
| Most businesses fail to respond to security threats According to a recent survey commissioned by LANDesk Software, businesses are failing to respond to the increased threat posed by mobile devices being used outside the corporate network and are continually suffering security breaches as a result. The breaches are often a result of the lack of corporate policies that prevent laptops and other devices access to the network without adequate security checks. These are the findings of a global survey of IT managers*(1) conducted in the US and Europe by Dynamic Markets into attitudes towards proactively securing corporate networks against potential threats such as malicious code, adware or spyware. As a result of these inadequate security measures, more than 65 percent of IT managers surveyed are continuing to experience security breaches and are seeking additional methods of securing their organization beyond just anti-virus software. For example, 60 percent of respondents said that their organization does not have a way of scanning devices attempting to connect to their network and quarantining any system that does not meet their company's security requirements. The results of the survey also revealed that many IT managers are leaving the security of their organization's network to chance, despite more than 85 percent of respondents now having a workforce that is mobile or field-based. Nearly half those surveyed (46 percent) admitted that the only way to enforce security settings on laptops and mobile devices is when they are physically back in the corporate environment. This means that while they are working or connecting remotely, they pose as significant risk to the business. Furthermore, 23 percent said that they must rely on their users to apply the security patches themselves. Manageability of remote or mobile workers is also an issue for IT managers, as 22 percent of those surveyed said that they have computers or laptops that operate outside their corporate network that are not manageable over a virtual private network (VPN). The following causes of security breaches within their organization were listed as the most common: - Unauthorized mobile devices and laptops being connected to the organization's network -- all participants 30 percent (USA: 34, UK: 27, France: 37, Germany: 21) - Users making changes to, or disabling settings -- all participants 33 percent (USA: 42, UK: 29, France: 37, Germany: 14) - Out of date patches or anti-virus signatures -- all participants 26 percent (USA: 28, UK: 26, France: 25, Germany: 22) "Security vulnerabilities are increasing in number and severity, and the continuing increasing organizational use of mobile devices is exacerbating the situation, " said Dave R. Taylor, vice president of worldwide marketing for LANDesk Software. "However, companies can take proactive measures to protect themselves. These include setting a corporate security policy for mobile devices, deploying a security solution such as LANDesk(R) Security Suite that can detect blended threats and implementing software and automatically scan computers attempting to connect to their network-then quarantining any system that does not meet their security policy requirements." write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Networking News :: home page |