Security costs fall with good policies
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(InfoWorld) - Enterprises willÂ increasingly face skilled IT criminalsÂ trying to infiltrate corporate networks for sensitive data stored in databases, but adopting new policies to evaluate risk should help drive the cost of defense down, computer security analysts said Monday. The attacks could come in a variety of forms -- extortion attempts after data is encrypted and held hostage and the theft of intellectual property -- but all could have "potentially disastrous" effects for unprepared businesses, said Vic Wheatman, managing vice president at research analyst firm Gartner Inc. "Most businesses aren't attacked but some are," Wheatman said at Gartner's IT Security Summit. "We believe that cybercrime represents the next wave." Businesses will need new IT strategies to defend themselves. Enterprises now should spend 4 percent to 6 percent of their IT budgets on information security. This figure is equivalent to what organizations allot for casualty insurance, he said. From its latest data, Gartner expects information security budgets to increase 4.5 percent over the next year. But many corporations are creating security policies based on government regulations rather than threats. The result is policies that meet the auditors' requirements but aren't necessarily best for the overall security, said Jay Heiser, Gartner research vice president. "We refer to that as 'regulatory distraction,'" Heiser said. Rather than trying to anticipate a new regulation, it's better for companies to treat regulation as one more factor in an overall risk portfolio, Heiser said. It could take at least five years for an enterprise to form this approach, he said. Corporations can also rethink how they acquire new security software. Rather than buying the "best of breed" security product, companies can buy the "best of need," one that may not be the top of the market but meets the company's requirements, Wheatman said. Security products are also increasingly meshing what were separate functions. Wheatman said companies have shown success in negotiations with security vendors in getting, for example, antispyware included with antispam and antivirus software instead of paying extra. "We do think that over time, organizations can decrease their security budgets as a percentage of the IT budget," Wheatman said. Gartner released figures last week showingÂ strong growthÂ in the computer security software sales. Revenue totaled $7.4 billion in 2005, a 14.8 percent increase over 2004. Antivirus software represented 54.3 percent of the revenue, at $4 billion. Â
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Watch dogs are a pretty common first line of security for U.S. homes and businesses. Watch birds not so much.
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Businesses may be spending millions on expensive security technologies aimed at thwarting data leakage and compliance violations, but many companies are still failing to sufficiently address access controls for protected information and IT systems.
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Â· Provision of services has become inconsistentÂ· Vulnerability test breaches government's strategy
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Facing continued top-line weakness, the company may have to cut costs.
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The number of companies, especially smaller businesses, that are going private is on the rise as compliance costs increase.
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THE REGION Bond fees lowered to woo customers
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Free insurance coverage for identity theft and computer damage is among the premium security offerings AOL is making available to its dwindling base of paying subscribers.
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Mortgage losses and legal fees weigh down the institutional money manager.
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Be careful what you wish for, Force Protection investors.
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Government says "costly and restrictive" policies are to blame for the high rates of consumer piracy in the country.
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The office of the inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security has its own shortcomings when it comes to laptop security.
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While corporations are monitoring ports and using advanced security tools to fend off infection and attack, home users -- who have less technical sophistication -- are left more susceptible, sometimes
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Retailers attending the ERIexchange conference in Boston complained that security standards imposed by credit card companies are costly to implement and leave them with an unfair burden in securing credit card data.
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You can stay safe but still get higher rates.
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Firms worried by terrorists, animal rights activists and hackers have spent Â£1m on extra security this year, says a survey.
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Security is a very big and growing tech business. Cumulative private and public sector security spending in the U.S. is forecast to exceed &#36;1 trillion over the coming decade. The punditocracy has analogized this post-Sept. 11 trend to Cold War-era military spending; homeland security will be a short-term economic stimulus but, ultimately, like military spending, a drag on the nation's domestic production.