These characters have been inundating our inboxes over the last several months.
It’s a madness of high order out there. For almost two years, it seemed as if spam might finally be on the decline. Remember Bill Gates once said that by 2006, “spam will be solved”. But Spam traffic is on the rise. IT Managers can look forward to lot more spam in 2007.
Security is an ever evolving space. As newer threats emerge, the enterprise platforms are exposed to new vulnerabilities and of course, new solutions will crop up. Hackers will continue to develop new hacking techniques. And the security budget will continue to grow in 2007. More investment means more security initiatives.
Securing data has become a bigger goal than ever. Although many IT managers believe that their network is not fully secure, they simply can’t afford to test their networks for the weak spots attackers seek out.
In some sense, regulatory mandates have increased security awareness from the back office to the board room. However, many believe that increased attention toward regulatory compliance have shifted their sights from reaching a state of overall security to attaining adequate levels of compliance.
Though technology is everywhere in companies, system attacks are nearly all driven by professionals working in IT who have the knowledge and access to pull them off. The biggest worry for the management is none other than their trusted insiders and the information that could be leaked to thieves or competitors. The insider threat problem is a scenario that keeps the chief information security officer up at night. IT managers need to learn to identify and stop insider malcontents before they do some serious damage.
The intersection of compliance, insider threats and data privacy laws has kept the security professional on his toe—in an effort to protect sensitive information from leaving a corporation.
Are insiders a big threat? What do you think organizations should do to protect themselves? Do you think we can all breathe easier? Please do send us your views.

Pradeep Shankar