Microsoft
have warned companies to expect an increase in the amount of internal computer
misuse from employees. They say that in the current financial climate, breaches
of IT security by disgruntled staff is on the rise, and this will get worse
as the situation deepens.
Doug
Leland of Microsoft's Identity and Security Unit said, "This is one of
the most significant threats companies face. The malicious insider is classed
as the greatest security concern because they have access, and relatively
easy access, to corporate assets.
He
added that as more jobs are threatened, "there's an increased risk and
exposure to these attacks".
February 11, 2009
Leading
anti-virus software firm Symantec have warned of an increase in malicious
insider security breaches due to the credit crunch.
Kevin Rowney of the firms Data Loss Prevention Unit said, "Common scenarios
involve employees stealing information to sell to a third party, to get
back at a company for being laid off or demoted, or to try and get a job
at another company".
"We have even seen it as bad as people who got pink slips (redundancy
notices) that day going to a customer database and forwarding huge blocks
of this data out the door so they can then set up shop and sell to the same
customers the next day".
Meanwhile
a study by rival anti-virus company, McAfee, reported that global ecomonic
losses due to data theft caused by organised crime, hackers and inside jobs
was $1 trillion last year.
February 11, 2009
A
recent investigation has shown that second-hand Blackberries being sold in
Nigeria are being priced on the data held on them, regardless of the age and
model of the device.
Most Blackberries are used for business purposes, and many contain sensitive
emails, customer details and corporate information.
A survey of 600 London railway commuters showed that 16% keep their bank account
details on their mobiles, whilst 24% contain pin numbers and passwords. Two
out of five are not even password protected.
May 5, 2009
Employee
use of the Internet
For many employees, email and the web are indispensable business tools. When
you give your employees internet access, you give them a resource that has
the potential to reap enormous business benefits. But it also has enormous
potential to be misused and - in some instances - that misuse can be damaging
for the business.
Nigel Miller Partner, Fox Williams LLP
Using
IT to Tackle Internal Fraud
Amid
fears of a double-dip recession, employee fraud and misconduct continue to
keep us busy at asb law and the use of computer forensics has proved an invaluable
tool in the majority of our cases. Even the most computer literate of employees
have little idea of the electronic footprints that can be left on their computer
and the trail of evidence that can be recovered.
Lyndsey Ratcliffe Associate, ASB Law
