While hackers and malicious software used to be the top security threats for most corporations it turns out that IT departments are now claiming that malicious employees are just as big a threat.
Findings from a survey of over 70 IT specialists at tech firm Citrix’s annual Solutions Seminar held in Dublin showed that almost half of these IT experts worried that the increasing trend in mobile working opened up new security requirements such as protecting data on mobile devices.
This was something these IT specialists felt their firm did not have adequate procedures in place for yet.
While everything from USB keys to MP3 players to laptops posed a threat to the protection and retention of sensitive industry data, 57pc of IT experts feared Distributed Denial of Service/Denial of Service (DDoS/DoS) attacks: an attack to make an organisation’s website or service unavailable through malicious methods such as spam flooding.
The survey further revealed that 73pc of IT specialists felt that their organisation could experience data theft through remote access and mobile working.
A further 52pc said that Web 2.0 applications used by employees had also posed a data theft threat, while 40pc pinpointed the expansion and relocation of company offices as another big worry.
Chris Mayers, security architect for Citrix, said: “Organisations must ensure that their corporate data is centrally managed and delivered to users just as needed.
“This is the most effective way to help prevent security threats such as those revealed in the survey.
“By implementing technology such as virtualisation from the desktop to the data centre, organisations can isolate different environments with varying levels of access and security, and can securely manage and deliver applications to the end user.”
By Marie Boran
