IT security basics will always be the best protection

There is growing evidence that we are entering a new and dangerous phase in the IT security threats that organisations face.

For years, the received wisdom has been that if you have an Apple Mac, you're safe; that there's no real threat from the insecurity of smartphones; that you only need to worry if you're using Microsoft.

Well, in the past week we've seen 600,000 Macs infected with the Flashback Trojan and Apple showing its complacency after a slow response to the threat. Security experts are increasingly warning that hackers are turning to smartphones, especially as businesses start to allow staff to use their own devices at work and those employees increasingly use their phones for sensitive tasks such as online banking. Microsoft, meanwhile, recently launched a new trustworthy computing initiative, and is seen in many quarters as an example of how software providers should respond to threats.

How times change.