TOP TEN WEB THREATS
Introduction: top ten web threats
The worldwide web is a fantastic business resource but, without
proper protection and management, it is also a source of danger and
unnecessary expense for small and medium-sized businesses. based
on
a survey of 273 it managers, we reveal the top ten web threats to
business and outline a solution that uses MessageLabs security
safeguard.
The internet future has arrived. in the uK, seven out of ten
households have internet access and 73 percent of adults access the
internet almost every day1. it's the same at work. nearly all
british companies (97 percent) have a broadband connection to the
internet2. employees expect to have internet access at work just
like they do at home.
Business challenges
This raises real challenges for it managers who have to protect
the business against malware, keep internet bandwidth available for
legitimate business needs and enforce acceptable use policies for
the
HR department. Managers everywhere must also find a balance
between allowing reasonable personal internet use at work and
maintaining productivity and concentration in the office.
Web threats fall into two main categories. First there are the
things that employees do online - like visiting infected websites.
Then there are the challenges and difficulties facing IT managers
when it comes to managing web use in a secure and efficient
way.
The top ten issues
We surveyed 273 IT managers to find out what kept them awake at
night and what challenges they
faced. the top ten issues were:
- Time-wasting on social networking and similar sites (86 percent).
- Enforcing acceptable use policies a challenge (53 percent).
- The ability to monitor employee web use (52 percent).
- Keeping security systems up to date with patches and signatures a challenge (49 percent).
- Legal risks such as employees visiting inappropriate websites (44 percent) and the accidental.
- Disclosure of confidential information online (57 percent)
- Keeping internet bandwidth free for legitimate business use (44 percent)6.
- Protecting remote and home workers (42 percent).
- Employees using unauthorised web-based applications (42 percent).
- Protecting the organisation against spyware and malware (40 percent).
- Protecting multiple offices and locations (19 percent generally but 76 percent among companies with 500 or more employees).
This report looks at each of these concerns to understand the business issues and to propose solutions based on symantec hosted services.
