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Understanding Employee Threats to Network: Solutions for Security Risks

Employees are the biggest threat to network security - and they don't even know it. Unauthorised equipment attached to a company network can, according to Robin Dahlberg, UK MD of Internet Security Systems, compromise the best efforts of a network . . . . Employees are the biggest threat to network security - and they don't even know it. Unauthorised equipment attached to a company network can, according to Robin Dahlberg, UK MD of Internet Security Systems, compromise the best efforts of a network manager to secure the system by creating a "backdoor" into the network. Protecting a company from external attacks from "recreational hackers" was almost irrelevant if a system was not properly secured internally, he says. "It is like locking all your doors but leaving the windows open." "Employee behaviour does not have to be malicious to be dangerous," he said. "The kinds of things we are talking about are: accidentally bringing in viruses, adding modems to networks and so on. There are lots of slow scans looking for that kind of stuff." The most important thing a company can do to keep out the external hackers is to ensure it knows what is happening on its networks at all times. But vigilance to this degree is prohibitively expensive for many firms, Dahlberg reckons. The link for this article located at The Register is no longer available. The link for this article located at The Register is no longer available. . Uninformed staff risk compromising data integrity through unsanctioned access, underscoring the necessity for training.. network connection risks, employee security flaws, IT security awareness, unauthorized devices, internal security measures. . Anthony Pell

Nov 23, 2000 • Anthony Pell Network Security