The fact that the retailer’s hackers were at work unnoticed for 18 months, lends considerable weight to Gartner’s chilling forecast that "undetected, financially motivated malware" will infect three quarters of businesses worldwide in 2007*.

Gartner base their evidence on three key factors: their monitoring of the volume of predatory attacks on businesses in 2006; their view that security processes and technologies aren’t keeping pace as malware evolves and its creators switch tactics; and the growth in the use of kits that can generate thousands of malware variants automatically.

HACKING GETS SERIOUSLY COMMERCIAL

Once the real thrill for the programmers was in the numbers game: hitting as many PC owners as possible with a simple worm or virus. But nowadays monetary gain is a primary motivation as they infiltrate company networks via the internet, email and pirated software. Using spyware, adware, Trojans, keyloggers and – perhaps most insidious of all – rootkits that can remain totally invisible to security audits.

For some, the quest is to steal valuable data assets such as new product research, banking information or the identities of employees or customers. Others want to secretly mount mass spamming attacks or distribute illegal files – such as pornography – by taking over a company’s servers or e-commerce site and using them as their own. Some may be pioneering the latest malware invention – ‘ransomware’ – to kidnap corporate files and hold them hostage until paid for their release.

*Source: Gartner Top 10 Forecasts for 2007, December 2006.

READ BETWEEN THE LINES

With the trend towards converged solutions, many small and medium-size businesses are recognising the logic of looking to their communications provider partner for the IT security services that they need to limit their risks and protect their livelihoods and reputations.

BT Wholesale can offer a number of managed services to enable your business to meet your business customers’ requirements and grow your revenues.

 

In the fight against identity fraud – for example – one key weapon can be URU (‘You Are You’): an automated online identity verification service for call centres that want to check the validity of each caller’s claim to an identity and address. While for businesses looking for cost-effective, all-round protection for office-based or home-based employees your solution could be Fortinet from BT Wholesale’s Equipment portfolio. Available to order online for delivery within 24 hours, this fully managed ‘solution in a box’ offers a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spam protection, intrusion detection and prevention, all in one.