Insiders worse than computer viruses
Date: September 19, 2007Source: arstechnica.com
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The Computer Security Institute has just released the 2007 edition (PDF) of its long-running "Computer Crime and Security Survey," and it offers some dreary news for overworked computer security admins: average losses from attacks have surged this year. More surprising is the finding that the single biggest security threat faced by corporate networks doesn't come from virus writers any more; instead, it comes from company insiders.
CSI has been running this survey for over a decade and has seen average losses from security breaches drop every year from 2002 to 2006. Investments in security seemed to be paying off; in 2006, the average breach cost companies an estimated $168,000, way down from five years earlier. But in 2007, the numbers skyrocketed. Each breach this year costs an estimated $350,454 to repair.
Financial fraud and viruses caused most of the monetary losses, but both have fallen in frequency over the last few years. Only 12 percent of all respondents reported financial fraud at their institutions. Viruses, which used to plague 90 percent of all companies in 2001, now affect only 52 percent.
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