Big businesses still ignore virus alerts

NEWS Despite a raft of scare stories in recent months, more than 70 per cent of respondents believe employees aren't aware of security threats and 40 per cent felt end users remain the most dangerous part of the network. The damage caused by the 'I Love You' virus in May has also failed to have an impact, with two thirds of IT directors dissatisfied with their company's anti-virus protection and 23 per cent of firms suffering critical data corruption through virus attack. Security vendor Network Associates sponsored the research conducted by Vance Bourne. According to UK managing director Phil Harragan it's the most basic security precautions that are being ignored. "Organisations are becoming more and more futuristic and using new technology without looking at the basics," he claimed. "People need to go back to basics on how they work and how they manage the environment." The survey questioned IT directors in 120 large UK firms and found the network is also increasingly vulnerable, with 30 per cent of companies experiencing a complete network crash once every 12 weeks. Despite recent criticism from security vendor Check Point that small companies are not taking security seriously enough, Vanson Bourne's research suggests the larger the company, the bigger the potential problem. Harragan said: "Small business are the biggest winners - but also potentially the biggest losers in ebusiness. The research shows they're adapting, and adapting a lot quicker than the larger organisations out there."