Have you got your keys?

Whilst on the phone to my bank this week I was asked the question as to whether I had ever been asked about Identity Fraud.

I tried to say 'Yes' but in true call centre fashion the operative carried on and told me about it anyway! As much as that information was not very helpful, it did make me think about the current state of security in our ICT world.

Most people have got the message on how important regular and tested data backups are within the business community, but more general IT security is still not paid enough attention.

Microsoft have recently reported that more than 2.2 million US PC's were 'hijacked' in the first 6 months of 2010, with up to 250 billion SPAM messages being sent per month.. Although the majority of these were home computers, it does highlight the importance of security and the need to constantly review it.

Much of the hijacking was designed to send SPAM email messages, in order to solicit 'clicks' to unscrupulous web sites. However, the power behind the designers of such software can be equally as dangerous in the commercial world. A recent quote from Cisco (one of the largest computer networking companies in the world) highlighted the point: "When your enemy is financially motivated, you have to be on alert"

The threats to IT security are ever-changing, as the attackers get cleverer. There is evidence of groups of 'hackers' forming alliances and renting their damaging software to each other.

So what are the potential risks to your business? It is a subject that we should definitely spend some time thinking about especially when so many of us have such a huge amount of information about our customers, employees, financial records, and internal procedures. What impact would it have if that information was "stolen" by someone copying everything, or even destroyed?

I would liken it to leaving the keys in your car, or leaving a filing cabinet open in a public place for anyone to sift through. We are always very careful to keep our physical items secure, but should also spend as much time (if not more) on securing the 'virtual' items too

There are a number of measures which can be put in place to protect your data and IT systems. If you haven't had a recent security audit undertaken, hjsEssentia is offering (for a limited period only) a free security review and consultation. Contact Me on 023 8038 6586.