One thing businesses cannot stand to lose today is consumer data. It figures, and it is pretty evident that no company wants its name to be flashed on TV for the seemingly possible chance of consumer data getting beyond the company’s walls. However, the year 2008 should be marked as a year wherein something could have been done to keep a check on this data being lost. Sadly, that isn’t the case.
The importance of this issue is so high that some companies even have a new role such as CRO (chief risk officer) whose only responsibility is ensure total, flawless and fortress-like security for all sensitive data within an organization. However, one intriguing question that must have struck you could be as to why these so called outsiders are so intrigued by this consumer data? What’s the big deal about your desktop?
No prizes for guessing. It’s the lure of the money.
Information is not just power. Appropriate information is pure cash. Things like personal identifiable information, bank account and credit card information and lastly, but not least, the company’s trade secrets -- all of this can be converted into money. Every company was started following a dream or based on certain information and the easy way to get around it is to hack it.
Now the lure of money is pretty strong and no one needs to guess the power money has over people when it comes to this. So in this regard, cyber criminals are forever at work. They seek to acquire this information at all costs and they will do whatever is necessary for their success. The pure thrill of breaking into a network or hacking into a system is enough to wreak havoc on your enterprise security, leave alone the money factor involved. Over time, these cyber criminals have joined hands and formed organized crime. There is money behind making money in this manner and there are powerful groups which can extend their generous hands for these efforts.
As long as these investors exist, problems will exist. Malware is their primary weapon to help them peek into your systems and they are better off targeting individual users within a system for maximum effect. The presence of malware is a serious business risk and it is not just from a purely IT stand-point. Look at it this way, if you allow malware in and it goes unfounded, it plagues your network and punches holes right through. Once that happens, consumer data can leak out; that causes share values to drop; a feeling gaucherie on the part of the company; waning stakeholder interest and a severe beating for the business.
The point here is that protecting an enterprise from malware isn’t something the IT administration has to worry about; it is, in fact, something that the entire company has to worry about. It is time IT administrators start taking it all on themselves and involve the company’s top management and find ways to combat this deadly threat called malware.