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Don't let it all end in floods of tears

Editorial Type: Comment     Date: 03-2014    Views: 2096   










Water has been constantly in the headlines of late, infiltrating communities on a massive scale and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake

For some, it was a repeat occurrence, ripping afresh through their defences; for others, it was a new experience, as the floodwaters' reach widened and deepened. No matter how high the sandbags were piled, or how many pumps attempted to keep the invading forces at bay, the attacks continued on a scale of magnitude and ferocity that was irresistible and relentless.

The parallels to the world of security are striking. Just as many people assumed they were well outside the danger zone when the deluge struck, so, too, in the world of cyber attacks, phishing, hacking etc, there is still widely held assumption that: "It won't happen to me." Nor is that expectation of remaining safe predicated on having established extraordinary levels of defences, within or without an organisation. In too many cases, it is more like a wish or a prayer. Until such organisations put their houses in order, security wise, they will continue to be hit by the invading forces that constantly threaten the unwary.

And there are plenty of the unwary out there. According to the Ponemon Institute in a recent survey, organisations of all sizes face a significant threat from information security breaches. Cyber-attacks have become more commonplace and more sophisticated with each passing year. There are a variety of challenges that today’s security organisations have to deal with, it advises, including:

• Malware campaigns launched by organised criminal groups who look to steal information that can be sold on the black market
• Increasingly powerful distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that can take out large websites
• State-sponsored espionage that can penetrate even well-defended networks.

Organisations need to be prepared to respond when these incidents happen, of course. And one of the essential differences between them and the people whose homes and land were so cruelly submerged of late is that businesses can actually remove themselves from the path of the security threat deluge by implementing the right strategies and safeguards. That's a choice they need to make now. Failure to do so will almost certainly end in tears.

Brian Wall
Editor
Computing Security
brian.wall@btc.co.uk

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