BSA warns of Middle East computer security danger

Global business via the Internet increases security risks as networks are left vulnerable to computer hacker attacks.

March 30, 2000, 12:31 PM

DUBAI (AROL) - Middle East organisations must take precautionary steps to ensure that their networks are safe and information is protected from computer hacker attacks and other security risks, warns Ashok Sharma, regional director for the Business Software Alliance (BSA) Middle East, according to a BSA press release.

Each organisation must determine its own requirements when it comes to protecting its networks, security loopholes are found in any organisations technology infrastructure and each organisation must determine how to react to these loopholes, Sharma explained. The increase in security threats is partly due to the growing number of online businesses which leave their systems vulnerable to hackers.

Another factor involved is that todays software products are easy to use but not easy to securely manage; ease of use is what the technology customers are demanding but software vendors do not have a business case to develop the security features.

Touching on the fact that these attacks are random and can happen anytime and from any location, Sharma said that security consultants are focusing on how the technology is being abused, how to protect systems and what to do when an attach occurs.

We would encourage system and network administrators, as well as information technology (IT) managers to review information that is publicly available from organisations such as CERT (known as computer emergency response team) that provides detailed information on how to protect a network systems, even from distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks such as those launched recently against prominent online sites.

A worthwhile Investment

Middle East organisations taking their business online must invest in proper training for network administrators and systems engineers and a software management policy to ensure that corporate information is secure and that hacker attacks inflict less damage.

The investment made by an organisation reflects the value an organisation puts on its data and this must be considered when introducing network security measures, Sharma added

http://www.akhbar.com/article/1,1690,Business-16969,00.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 31, 2000