Network Security Budget:

Managing network vulnerabilities through a network security budget will be the biggest challenge for C-Level executives in the coming years. Intrusions are more frequent and more malicious, so the security of corporate networks, and therefore the security of the entire corporation are dependent on the ability to quickly identify, prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities in the network.

For hackers it's easier and cheaper to conduct electronic break-ins and the risk of getting caught is diminishing. For corporations, government agencies and individuals both the occurrence and economic impacts of cyber attacks are rising at an alarming rate. But companies need to find a way to provide network security on a budget.

Every hacker attack costs the victim monetary losses, theft of services, interruption of operations, loss of sales, drop in stock price and customer defection. Expenses can include fines, litigation costs, penalties and even damage to capital equipment.

Deploying proactive information security technology coupled with judicious management and remediation; provides the highest level of security and therefore, the strongest front against hackers.

The State of Network Security Budget:

Information security breaches from Hackers, Worms Virus' and Malware are a resident evil in today's knowledge-based society. The growing dependence on information technology and the need for easy interchange of data to conduct business; dictates that every device that we interact with is going to have an IP address. Cell phones, PDAs, personal email devices, MP3 players, automobiles; even household appliances are accessible by; and therefore vulnerable to anyone on the internet. With all of these entry points open to the world wide web, hackers have an easier time sneaking in a portal that is not being watched.

Catching a hacker is almost impossible. If law enforcement agencies are actually able to track down the perpetrators, prosecution is rare. More and more hackers are launching their attacks from regions of the world where the resources to pursue them are menial or non-existent.

The face of hacking is changing as well. Gone are the days of brilliant but frustrated computer 'geeks' looking for doors to pry open, cause some minor trouble to gain influence and admiration of their peers.

Today's hacker can range from 'script kiddies', downloading malicious software from hacker sites to commit the equivalent of electronic vandalism; to organized crime gangs and even international terrorists perpetrating Phishing and Pharming scams to finance their operations.

With the plethora of opportunities, easy availability to hacking tools, the potential for huge financial gain and the very low risk of getting caught; the stage is set for some major catastrophes resulting from cyber attacks.

Statistics on reported computer security incidents from the CERT center at Carnegie-Mellon University, show that attacks are increasing exponentially year-to-year, costs involved in dealing with these attacks is increasing on the same scale.

Intrusions to corporate networks will increase exponentially in frequency and destructiveness. This has elevated the key focus of CIOs to guarding the corporate infrastructure instead of enabling increases in productivity.

Compromising on network security budget and policy will result in a compromise of your information assets. This in turn directly affects both the profitability and operational efficiency of your organization. Last year's top four attacks - Mydoom, Sasser, NetSky and Bagel - cost an estimated $13 billion in damages and lost productivity worldwide.

This 2003 data on cost vs. reporting rate of cyber attacks shows that the 2 most destructive types of attacks are also the only two under-reported types of attacks. There is an indication here that IP professionals and corporate officers are concerned about making public the true scope of the problem.

If the truth were known on the prevalence of Proprietary Info Theft alone, it would certainly shake the confidence of the shareholders. When it comes out later, the damage will be far greater. How would you like to find out that companies in your portfolio not only did a poor job of protecting their Intellectual Property, but didn't inform you that there was even a problem.