Monday - July 24, 2000
European Internet Security
Measures are Flawed
The proliferation of Internet access and intranet use
throughout Europe has significantly increased the risks
organizations face in terms of IT-related security threats.
To thrive in today's ebusiness world, European companies
are realizing they must have the proper security for their
Internet infrastructures in place. According to IDC's latest
research, three quarters of European companies indicate
they have implemented some degree of security measures.
Unfortunately, the approach
taken by many companies suffers in two key ways. "First,
companies tend to focus on keeping the bad guys out -
without considering the needs of legitimate users from
both inside and outside their organizations," said
Sandra Baccari Edler, research analyst from IDC's European
Business Infrastructure and Technology Services program. "Second,
and perhaps more important, companies often implement
one or more individual security measures and believe
themselves secure when in fact a cohesive, holistic security
policy is required to create a truly secure environment." Companies
with no security in place or those whose security is
comprised of a piecemeal approach are in immediate danger
of succumbing to the threat of cyber-crime. In addition,
they risk losing business to competitors who race ahead
of them in the eEconomy.
Of companies that employ some
security measures, virus detection software is by far
the most popular choice with 97% of respondents citing
their use of it. Not surprisingly, other security measures
employed by European companies drop in popularity as
they increase in complexity and cost. The implementation
of firewalls, used by 67% of companies, is rather straightforward,
while complex public key infrastructure solutions that
require extensive management are used by only 9% of respondents. "When
we examine the reasons for investing in security," said
Baccari-Edler, "it is clear this investment is still
very much aimed at barricading access to resources rather
than facilitating controlled access. If ebusiness in
Europe is to be successful, this approach will have to
change," she added.
The security services market
in Europe is still in its infancy, but its growth is
being fuelled by a number of factors, including:
- The ebusiness explosion -
The growth of ebusiness in Europe will only be sustained
through the development of secure IT infrastructures.
Many companies that will rely on a secure IT infrastructure
for ebusiness will leave the protection and management
of their infrastructures to specialized professionals.
- Increased access
to company resources - Widespread access to
the Internet and use of company intranets in Europe
is increasingly prevalent and requires a properly
secured infrastructure.
- Brand protection -
As business increasingly moves from the "real" world
into the virtual world of the Web, the value of a
company's brand name will be one of its most important
assets. Failure to ensure a secure ebusiness environment
for customers will almost certainly result in depreciation
of brand - something that is extremely difficult
to regain - and will directly impact the company's
bottom line.
