Finance industry faces serious IT security issues
The finance industry needs to keep its eye on the small change as well as the bigger picture of its security vulnerabilities, if it is to avoid the potential for hackers to gain unauthorised system access and disrupt service availability, according to NTA Monitor's 2008 Annual Security Report. The report shows that, on the whole, the finance industry has made no overall improvement in its vulnerability level since the previous year and ranked the fourth worst of the 10 sectors tested. Although five of the 10 sectors tested avoided high risk vulnerabilities, the finance industry did not.
NTA Monitor's Annual Security Report analyses data from external Internet vulnerability tests conducted for worldwide organisations across a wide range of industry sectors, including charities, education, government, IT, law, retail and finance. .
Roy Hills, Technical Director at NTA Monitor, says: "If a financial institution has a security problem, the repercussions are potentially severe for the organisation itself as well as the companies and customers it deals with. It is vital that the finance industry considers IT security as an integral part of its business."
NTA Monitor can advise companies on the specific issues that need addressing, but also has generic advice on how organisations can get their house in order:
- Apply patches and updates as soon as they become available to address the latest vulnerabilities
- Ensure that preventative action is an ongoing process
- Educate and make it a commitment for all staff, to be aware of Internet security issues
- Update the security policy regularly and ensure that it is publicised and communicated.
A copy of the NTA Monitor Annual Security Report 2008 is available on request from NTA Monitor, email marketing@nta-monitor.com
This article was first released on: 23rd June 2008