« When is Security Too Much Security | Main | New Phishing Fighter »

An article today from the website Search Security reports on the difficulty of getting small and medium sized enterprises to recognize their need for computer security. While large companies have larger budgets and make larger targets, smaller companies have smaller IT budgets and often haven't experienced the security breaches that are the bane of larger enterprises.

But with the recent security breaches making the headlines, and with government oversight and compliance issues growing by the day, small and midmarket companies are starting to take notice. The question now is: what exactly should SMBs be most concerned with?

Chris Liebert, a security analyst with Boston-based Yankee Group, said: "You need a good URL filter and content controls. You need technology to monitor the network and alert you when someone is downloading a lot of files after hours. Companies that have these technologies are going to be in good shape."

Also, according to Liebert, midmarket companies are better off spending money on intrusion defense technologies than on new IT staff. "It makes more sense from a budget and effectiveness standpoint to use technology for this, than to spend money and time on human resources," she said.

But that's not always the best solution. Some companies have everyone on their IT staff deal with security issues along with their day-to-day responsibilities, which means no one can give security the full attention it deserves. Either way, midmarket executives are quickly learning that computer security is not just something for big businesses to be worried about.

Posted by pschooff in Small Medium Enterprise |Digg This|Add to del.icio.us

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ebizq.net/mt/mt-tb.cgi/753