<I>ENT</I> Readers Share Concerns About Network Security
Company intranets undoubtedly provide a valuable resource for information distribution across the corporate enterprise. But concerns about network security have made it abundantly clear that the systems on which corporate networks are run are under attack.
So reveal the results of a recent ENT reader poll conducted by BCI Research (Fort Washington, Pa.). The poll received 117 responses from computer professionals, who answered questions about their concerns over network security and the measures they were taking to prevent security holes and incidents.
According to the poll, 96 percent revealed that security is at least somewhat of a concern, while 32 percent said security was the biggest concern facing their network. Although networks are attacked in various ways, an overwhelming 59 percent of readers said that unauthorized access to corporate network resources from outside the corporate intranet concerns them the most.
While 80 percent of readers say there was no one incident that brought security problems to their attention, the 16 percent that said there was a specific incident had some compelling experiences. One reader said that computer consultants from China and India were transferring the reader’s company data silently until it was too late to stop it. Another reader said that an employee was inadvertently loading software on his workstation that contained a virus that brought down the company’s LAN. Most of the examples of specific incidents resulted form unauthorized access.
Eighty-two percent of respondents reported that they had implemented security measures. To combat attacks, readers said they implemented a network firewall, 76 percent; improved physical security, 72 percent; generated and published corporatewide network use policies, 60 percent; and increased monitoring of network traffic/user behavior, 53 percent.