Many have been victimized by identity theft and no other area has been so affected as the banking industry. Investment in upgrading and purchasing newer technology and software is one of the most expensive costs for the banking sector which has one of the highest losses when it comes to IT security. Banks and other financial institutions are expected to pour billions of dollars into buffing up their defenses in hopes of staying one step ahead of fraudulent claims and users. The culprit, the internet, the internet has become one of the most dangerous territories on earth for anywhere financial information is transmitted and used, it can be intercepted and misused. True to the dilemma, health industry leaders have also begun to recognize the rising costs associated with identity theft related medical claims. This has already been in the forefront of the battle in the US and is fast spreading around the world and company after company is falling victim to the said crime. The internet also makes it easy to get away with the crime for use of public access which can be traced but the user may be any of the millions of users at one time. Hackers can also turn to call bouncing options which is more akin to spy movies but is really possible. The banking industry has long been a target of ID theft more so in their credit card divisions where billions are lost annually to fraudulent claims and use. Technology is the only security these establishments have as defense but technology as we know it costs a lot but there may be no other choice for them. Buy or bust is the dilemma and they are surely buying.
IT Security – the outlook for 2008
Wireless networks and ways of protecting them will top most of the IT Security issues for the coming year. Predictions place wireless networks to slowly take over the now existing networks and development into WiMax which has more coverage area in terms of distance compared to WiFi is making this a fast reality. Players in the WiMax development include the biggest names in the wireless network area such as Intel, Samsung, Motorola and many more. Innovations will continue to push the technology to better and improved performance like never before.
Studies also show that more and more workers are turning to wireless computing for their network and office needs doing what they do in the most unlikely places such as coffee shops and anywhere else they can get a stable and sustainable connection. It also raises ethics issues for people will no longer be out of reach of networks and equally their jobs. Family time and other more casual needs for privacy and quiet time will be secondary for your boss can always reach you anywhere on the planet there is coverage of a network.
The death of satellite based communications has spurred rapid development of Voip allowing anybody connected to the internet instant access to telephone-like services without the use of dedicated telephone lines. This saves on telephone bills and has been in use heavily initially with call centers and has now shifted to mainstream use so more is to be expected of the technology in the years to come which may ultimately result in the death of the standard telephone service many opting for high-speed internet access instead.
The release of the Quad-core processors and planned development of more multi-core microprocessors fuels the future of laptop supercomputers which may come in following years. This and all of the better and improved technology will allow computing to soar into new heights making them a mainstay in our everyday lives for the future.
[tags]Multi-core Processors, Mobile Computing, Mobile Workforce[/tags]
Network Assessment tools – for a better/secure network
In the time when people are going more and more mobile making the telecommuting concept a true reality, the existence of the wall-less office has slowly been realized. The shift to WiFi and other wireless networking solutions has allowed people to work like never before without the wires that tied them physically to desks. More and more areas like metropolitan areas are putting up hot spots that allow constituents to work within specific areas which already have existing wireless networks. Even offices have shifted to the technology due to cheaper implementation without the expensive wires needed for each and every workstation. Maintenance of said wired networks also proved to be a very challenging task due to the restricted spaces and conduits which housed them behind walls, ceilings and under the floors. WiFi allowed then network to function without physical connections allowing mobile devices to be connected and linked to the network which could be taken anywhere in the office.
The wireless office has indeed given us more in the area of freedom but it has also created a more vulnerable network for control on who gets which access and other security issues quickly emerged. Software and hardware systems like Retina from eEye Corporation allowed network engineers and managers to analyze and address security loopholes such as unauthorized devices connected to the network like the occasional iPhone and most other unauthorized wireless devices. It also serves as an analysis tools on the proper placement and function of wireless antenna which can be analyzed based on signal strength. Weak signals can mean re-positioning the antenna system or worse it could be a signal of a pending failure for a specific network device. It can also show the effectivity of the network in terms of utilization and bandwidth that is being effectively shared/used by the users.
[tags]Network Invetory, Network Usage, Maximizing Internet Use[/tags]
Passwords and back-up…still the best defense against data loss
Security experts agree and still recommend that passwords be as tough as possible to prevent access to information on computer systems/networks. Yeah, it sounds very redundant and has become a bit tiring to read but it truly is the best protection ever for a computer may it be in the office or home. Encryption is one of the most promising technologies that has swept the IT security arena but even these robust encryption technologies (hardware/software based) protection technologies can be circumvented given enough time and resources.
Some companies have even turned to military-grade encryption which is tough and almost impossible to break but a wrong move along the way (encryption, transmission and decoding) can lead to catastrophic data loss. Carbonite has another approach to data security by actually backing up data offsite from subscriber’s computers may they be corporate or home users. The initial process of copying and indexing may take a few hours or even days depending on the amount of data to be copied but the subsequent back-up process which is simultaneous (which means that it works in the background when there is not much going on in terms of resource use) as one connects to the internet. So you can be working all day and stop fro a few minutes for a coffee break and return to a computer that has all the necessary information backed up by the system automatically.
Data loss due to hardware failure, software corruption due to malicious code (viruses and the likes) and people simply being reckless and deleting information without following the proper assessment of the information still cost a lot of money to recover from and the approach Carbonite uses is a better option. The system uses secure military-grade encryption which even the Carbonite servers cannot break and use adding to it the use of SSL in the transmission of the information for one mean back-up solution. As a user in the article says, it is like getting an insurance policy for your data. More on the said technology in the coming posts so do return and check us out from time to time for more information on the latest and hottest information from all over the world in terms of IT Security. Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to all.
[tags]Data Security, Data Backup, Strong Passwords[/tags]
Spam a continuing cost for Businesses
No, it’s not the luncheon meat though we hope it was. It’s those annoying unsolicited messages or email that fills your mailbox at home and in the office is costing businesses a lot of money according to a study conducted by Nucleus Research Inc. coming up with a figure of $712.00 per employee as cost of spam per year. This goes to show the amount of wasted resources such as time and effort by employee’s and the amount of traffic it taxes on already burdened network systems.
ISP’s have had to add provisions as well in the form of hardware upgrades to increase capacity and storage unknowingly due to these uncalled for messages. Software companies are making a buck from all this but according to Symantec, almost 70% of all email that passes through the internet is spam and it costs a lot to handle and get rid of. Even if a company has the proper intercept software to prevent them from getting in, storage space in terms of quarantined email still carries some cost till it is deleted and sent into oblivion.
Even at home, you are not spared from the rigors of going through your junk email even with spam filters. Some who don’t bother or simply do not know how to use them experience worse than their protected counterpart having to deal with hundreds upon hundreds of them in a day. Transmission, storage and interception all have costs when you look at it from the point of a business and they all have to stop. Unfortunately, till the makes of these unsolicited mail is stopped at the source this might be an impossible task. Take the sample of an economic impact, Nigeria being one of the most likely sources of spam suffers greatly for a search engine due to the lessened priority given to the results containing the word Nigeria. Email with the same name are also intercepted and junked by most scanners thus limiting the information getting through about the African country.
[tags]Email Scams, Wasted Time[/tags]
Another Bummer – Lost UK Driver’s data
In addition to the very much weak security regarding the handling of information by government agencies, the UK Government suffers yet another blow with news that information for almost three million UK drivers is missing from a facility in Iowa in the US. The contractor for the British Government has lost the said hard drive from it’s secure facility in the said state and that there has no news yet as to where the information has gone to.
This adds another blow to the already tarnished reputation of Prime Minister Brown’s government for the recent loss of at most 8 CD’s containing tax and child support information in the UK. The said disks are still missing to this point and the reason behind the loss still unclear. In related news, the British Transport office in Ireland has also lost information regarding 6,000 motorists containing information from driver’s license numbers, addresses, and many more driver related information including the type of vehicle they drive.
This is poor showing for the British which has suffered a great deal of criticism from it’s parliament on the way information is handled and how it is mishandled. The incidents highlights more and more the need for more stringent control of information and the transport of such beginning from the roots as to why such a junior British government official had access to copy and burn CD’s straight off a supposedly secure government server. The recent incident has the missing hard disk formatted specially but sources will not confirm whether the said disk was encrypted. The said special formatting would render the disk and the information it contains unusable at best which was for use on special machinery (computers).