Security stats sobering as CSI show opens

Several companies will be making product announcements at this week's Computer Security Institute (CSI) show in Washington, but the show opens on an eye-opening note with a new study indicating network attacks are on the increase.

According to a research report sponsored by Britestream Networks, 76 percent of respondents believe their network is more secure than it was a year earlier, but at the same time 81 percent say that attacks on their network are increasing. The national survey was conducted last month by Q&A Research among 300 IT professionals in companies with annual revenues of more than $30 million. Other findings from the report were equally sobering. For instance, one in five respondents said a hacker had gained access to their company's network.

“We were surprised that many IT managers are feeling fairly secure,” said Warren Pino, CEO of Q&A Research. “Because they made investments in network security last year, two-thirds of respondents feel that their network is more secure than their competitor's. But at the same time, they reported a huge increase in attacks and a significant number of breaches. Another irony was that even with increased regulations regarding security compliance and senior management support, budgets for security have not increased."

Other findings from the survey show that viruses remain the biggest concern among IT professions, followed by hacking, theft of consumer information, and information security liability. The study also indicates that security is a top-of-mind issue for senior management, although that awareness has not increased the budget for computer security. The percentage of IT budgets set aside for network security is not expected to increase next year, and respondents indicated the biggest obstacle to making the company’s network safer is “securing budget for security solutions”.

Among the companies offering new products at the CSI show is Check Point Software, which today announced its Total Access Protection (TAP) endpoint security initiative. TAP provides a security policy enforcement framework for heterogeneous networks that aims to secure all networked PCs from hackers, targeted attacks, spyware, and malicious code.

TAP strengthens policy enforcement across the enterprise by extending cooperation between Check Point Integrity, the company's endpoint security solution, and other components of the Check Point's security offerings.

Also announcing a new product at the show is Kerio Technologies, a provider of Internet messaging and firewall software. Kerio is adding Kerio ServerFirewall, a software firewall solution for Windows server operating systems and applications, to its product lineup.

Kerio ServerFirewall includes network filtering, intrusion prevention, application hardening, and remote management features. The product is available now and is priced starting at $599 per license.