New tech brings security risks
The market is awash with claims and counter-claims regarding the level and nature of security risks. Claims that risks are hyped give companies a false sense of security and put them at risk of not taking any action, while counter-claims often lead companies to spend in the wrong areas, an industry expert says.
Barry Cribb, MD of security testing company IS Digital Networks, agrees that, while companies should not hold back on implementing new technologies that would benefit their businesses, such as wireless, VPNs and VOIP, they must be aware of the specific security risks new technologies can introduce. “The penalties for failing to recognise security as a highly-specialised field, requiring constant monitoring, and failing to have systems independently security-tested, could have devastating consequences,” he says.
The vast majority of successful attacks take place as a result of common, known and avoidable errors in the system's build, design, configuration or the application programming itself and it is these errors that most hackers exploit, he says.
