Sharon Gaudin

This is a sidebar to Security Sieves: Misused Technology Leaving Networks Vulnerable. Before companies invest more of their budgets on new security technologies, they should make sure they’re properly using what they already have, say industry analysts and security consultants. “Are IT technologies being used efficiently? No. Are they optimized? No,” says Michael Rasmussen, director […]

Despite the big money IT executives are spending to protect their companies from security breaches, industry analysts and security consultants say most are misusing the technology they already have installed. “The problem is pretty widespread,” says Paul Robertson, director of risk assessment at Herndon, Va.-based TruSecure Corp. “We did a study that showed that about […]

A bill designed to stiffen the penalties for computer crime could help law enforcement crack down on industrial espionage and computer sabotage, according to industry watchers. “They really have to juice up the sentencing a lot,” says Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Grady O’Malley, who prosecuted the first federal criminal case of computer sabotage. “We need […]

One man is known for attacking the computer networks at various government agencies in the United States. His photo, along with a warning to not give him admittance to the building, is posted all around the Beltway. He may not necessarily be the most popular guy in town but 24 government agencies, like the IRS […]

A woman calls a company help desk and says she’s forgotten her password. In a panic, she adds that if she misses the deadline on a big advertising project her boss might even fire her. The help desk worker feels sorry for her and quickly resets the password — unwittingly giving a hacker clear entrance […]

Editor’s Note: This is a sidebar to Social Engineering: The Human Side of Hacking. Hackers looking to disrupt business or steal corporate information are using social engineering techniques to break into computer networks. Security experts from both government and private businesses offer some suggestions to protect your company from these attacks: Shred any phone lists, […]

Before cracking down on Internet access abuse at her family’s 60-year-old auto dealership, the IT director there found a few employees were spending as much as six out of their eight-hour work day on the Internet — playing games, gambling, buying stock and even downloading porn. “They obviously weren’t doing their job,” says Shawn Vidmar, […]

(Editor’s Note: This is a sidebar to Employee Abuse of Internet Rampant.) Most companies take very few, if any, steps to control or guide their employees’ Internet access, according to industry analysts. Here are a few recommendations from corporate users, analysts and security consultants on how to take charge of the situation: The first thing […]