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VXA
Tape
January
1, 2000
PROTECTING
COMPANY DATA FROM....EMPLOYEES?
Protecting the company data is becoming more of a challenge and more of a
chore, with IT professionals reporting that data protection is rapidly becoming
one of their key job responsibilities. But in the midst of talk of firewalls
and better proxy servers, don't forget about the single biggest thing you need
to protect your data from: the employees. And we're not just talking about the
normal data loss issues here, but intentional intrusions into the company data.
A report from Kessler & Associates, an investigative and accounting
firm, shows that theft of proprietary information has doubled in the past three
years, rising from $20 million in 1997 to $42 million in 1999.
They also report that the primary source for unauthorized intrusions is
disgruntled employees -- not hackers.
Employees make up 35 percent of all computer intrusions
According to Kessler, disgruntled employees account for 35% of all corporate
computer intrusions, while hackers make up approximately 28%. The rest of the
intrusions are spread among foreign corporations, governments and US
corporations.
Michael Kessler, the company's president, expects the threat to computer
systems to continue. He said, "there must be heightened awareness of the
growing number and variety of computer security breaches that can weaken a
company's balance sheet."
Information for this article came from www.emarketer.com. For more
information on Kessler & Associates, see www.investigation.com.
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