Attacks from the Inside

Filed in archive Security on September 28, 2007

If you retain customer data, listen up. IBM thinks it can help you halt attacks that come from within.

As they state in their latest report, IBM says this about attacks: "Organizations have spent decades counterbalancing more open, connected and distributed networks with stronger defenses against intrusion, including firewalls, anti-virus software, biometrics and identity access badges. These measures have made the business world more effective at blocking threats from the outside, and made it increasingly difficult for would-be hackers or viruses to penetrate systems. Such technologies, however, are largely passive in approach and designed to thwart only unauthorized access. They provide only a first line of defense." Worse, "The Global State of Information Security 2005," a study published by PricewaterhouseCoopers and CIO, showed that 33 percent of information security attacks originated from internal employees, while 28 percent came from ex-employees and partners. That's some serious, Untouched threat.

Go to the Ziff Davis web site to download the report.