There’s no let-up in the steady increase of potential online threats to your data—new figures point to an 81 per cent increase in ‘phishing’ attacks this year. You need to make sure everyone in your business is aware of the risks.
More and more businesses are finding that the main IT-related risks aren’t only to do with maintenance or breakdown issues, but also with the prospect of valuable company data being lost over the internet. There is a thriving illegal industry in this kind of data theft. New figures from IT security firm Symantec point to an increase of 81 per cent in the number of ‘phishing’ attacks recorded, to 157,477 in the first half of 2006.
Phishing is a form of internet attack, but the weaknesses it preys on are human rather than technological. Phishers try to find ways of fooling computer users to voluntarily hand over valuable data (typically it’s bank account details they’re after).
It goes without saying that your IT system should be protected technologically—firewalls, anti-virus software and encryption all have a role to play. But don’t neglect the human side of things. Make sure that you and all your employees are security-conscious when it comes to using the IT system. Vigilance is the best way of preventing phishers and other online attackers from profiting at your expense.
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