Kennedy Communications

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NEWS

Inside threats are more real than you think.

November 12th, 2008

While most companies are aware of security threats from outside their network, many have no idea of the possibility of an inside threat.

Common “Unintentional” Mistakes:

• Unauthorized application use: 70 percent of IT professionals believe the use of unauthorized programs resulted in as many as half of their companies’ data loss incidents.

• Misuse of corporate computers: 44 percent of employees share work devices with others without supervision.

• Unauthorized physical and network access: 39 percent of IT professionals said they have dealt with an employee accessing unauthorized parts of a company’s network or facility.

• Remote worker security: 46 percent of employees admitted to transferring files between work and personal computers when working from home.

• Misuse of passwords: 18 percent of employees share passwords with co-workers. That rate jumps to 25 percent in China, India, and Italy.

So how do you protect your important company data?

First you have to define a network Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). This document is a set of rules that details network usage and restrictions. A good AUP should state what a user is and isn’t allowed to do on the network, reference a more detailed security policy when needed, and state the consequences if the user breaks the AUP.

Second you must perform regular audits. Many times a company will set policies regarding security and network use but never audit to insure that these rules are being followed.

As you see in the statistics above, internal network abuse is a very real threat. These basic steps are just the start to protecting your company’s network and securing one of your company’s most important assets.