Threats wrongly perceived, says Wick Hill

Security distributor Wick Hill has warned that enterprises are still focusing too much on external security threats, despite a recent rise in popularity of remote working and mobile solutions, which meant that internal IT security risks were more of a threat.

Wick Hill believed a tendency for news media to talk up high-profile external threats was partly to blame, as it unveiled its National Gateway Security Survey 2008.

The research revealed that securing the network from outside attack was considered very important by 79% of respondents, while securing remote access was rated very important by 75%, and authenticating remote users by just 67%.

Wick Hill’s survey covered 341 UK enterprises, of which 61% reported that remote user numbers were increasing, leading to perfect conditions for a boom in UTM solutions.

The report also showed that the security channel’s confidence in the green IT issue may not be taking root among users, with the majority not prepared to buy security gear on green credentials alone, in spite of a majority considering the issue important.