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TELECOMS INDUSTRY
REPORTS
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Business employee security report 2008
01/07/08
The security division of value-added
distributor, Bell Micro has released findings from independent
research that suggests that UK businesses are still failing to
implement internal security procedures despite growing awareness of
the potential consequences.
The research indicated that despite an increase in mail filters and
firewalls, a high proportion of respondents still receive unwanted
emails from apparently reputable sources, such as banks (63%), which
typically represent phishing attacks. Even more surprising was that
when asked about password protocols, 56% believed colleagues
passwords commonly reflected either the names of family members or
favourite sports teams (41%), all of which can easily be gleaned
from social networking sites - which 41% of respondents are
permitted to visit by their respective companies.
“The areas of concern that become apparent from this research
unfortunately seem to point to staff as the weak link in the
security chain,” said Steve Browell, General Manager of Bell Micro’s
Security Division. “There is still too much reliance on non-random
password protection, which can easily be hacked by identifying
personal information freely distributed on social networking sites -
despite the readily available solutions that are on the market and
already protecting against these issues.”
73% of respondents to the survey were also willing to confirm their
mother’s maiden name to researchers - a prime example of sharing
personal information that is traditionally used as a password, or
prompt, when accessing online accounts – or is often used as a
password.
The research was carried out by Dynamic Markets on behalf of Bell
Micro at Infosecurity Europe 2008. Among the 94 interviewees, 88%
were IT professionals.
Steve Browell is a veteran of the security industry, previously
holding the Executive General Manager role at Vistorm for nine
years, where he was responsible for the vendor portfolio,
identifying services opportunities and delivering sales and
marketing initiatives that drove consistent growth.
Nick Gibson, editor
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