Using managed services can cut vulnerability

SMEs are currently suffering under a wave of spear phishing attacks. A European-based group are using targeted phising attacks, after five months of lying low, according to security firm iDefense.

The attacks are plentiful and, iDefense says, on the increase. Between February 2007 and January 2009, the company traced 38 different scams launched by the gang from Eastern Europe, and so far there are no signs of them stopping.

If this is not enough to send shivers down the spine of any IT manager, other reports this week say that 25% of IT staff have cheated on their companies’ security audits. Research from Security Lifestyle Management company Tufin Technologies says that one in five security staff have lied on security audits to pass systems, whilst 9% of companies never check their firewalls at all. 63% of companies only check their firewalls every three to twelve months, and over half said that their firewall rules “are a mess”.

Two things emerge from this news. The first is that attacks on small businesses are becoming more intelligent, more damaging and more frequent. The second is that, whilst this is going on, companies are not stepping up their security appropriately, and some even admit that their IT staff members are slacking on security measures.

Using managed services for security makes vulnerability much less likely. The outsourcer of your choice is held to account, whilst IT staff are able to shift the blame for breaches or cheat audits anonymously. As well as this, using an outsourcer to take care of your security means that they will not be distracted by the other pressures of making a company work the way you will. In some ways, it is much like hiring a domestic cleaner. You simply state what you want and pay accordingly, and it will be done properly, whereas if you did it yourself, you may cut corners as you have so much more to do elsewhere.