Security investments fall short

Business leaders making significant financial investments in security solutions are not achieving the protection they initially expected.

This is according to Alan Rehbock, sales and marketing director at Magix Security, who says he often hears executives who have already spent significant amounts of money on security solutions asking; 'How do we know we are really secure?'

“These managers have done their best to secure their infrastructure and ensure their data is safe from external and internal threats. However, this knowledge does not satisfy their concerns as they simply do not know how secure their companies really are.”

Rehbock will attend the upcoming ITWeb Security Summit, which will be held between 10 and 12 May at the Sandton Convention Centre.

He says without careful planning, it is almost impossible for business leaders to know their perimeters are secure, and all devices connected to the corporate infrastructure are authorised to transact on it.

“This is a problem all companies face in the connected, hi-tech era we live in, and one that can't be ignored or resolved by simply installing a product,” he notes.

Rehbock advises organisations to conduct vulnerability assessments and develop a comprehensive security policy covering all identified vulnerabilities.

“Once an effective security policy is in place and an acceptable security posture developed, it is imperative that organisations continually monitor their posture to make sure it remains intact,” adds Rehbock.

“The most cost-effective and reliable way to handle this is via regular, automated maintenance checks of existing solutions and scans for new vulnerabilities.”

He says security is an ongoing exercise that can not be handled by manual processes alone.

Rehbock points out: “Organisations can only be assured of their security posture if they make use of technology to regularly run vulnerability assessments and security audits to ensure they are constantly prepared for any attack, whether originating remotely or from within.”

The ITWeb Security Summit is one of South Africa's premier IT events and is a must for executives and business owners who are responsible for securing their organisation's assets, information and infrastructure.

Get a first-hand account of the latest technologies, products and professional services in information security at the ITWeb Security Summit, 10 to 12 May at the Sandton Convention Centre. Click here for more information.