Corporate Networks Accessible From Car Parks
May 26 2004
Corporate Networks Accessible From Car Parks
Survey Finds 80% of Companies at Risk
Business networks are routinely exposing themselves to large-scale data loss and manipulation as the advent of wireless technology makes them vulnerable to attack by hackers. This was revealed in a survey released today by global wireless security specialist, Red-M, which shows that 80% of companies are at risk. Statistics gathered over the past six months from 100 large multi-national companies across the globe show that:
- 80% of corporate networks are accessible from outside their buildings
- 100% of e-mail on unsecured networks could be intercepted, read and manipulated
- Among those broadcasting confidential and sensitive information
- 66% of banks
- 60% of financial services institutions
- 100% of education institutions
- 79% of IT companies
Karl W Feilder, CEO of Red-M, said businesses were routinely transmitting internal information outside the physical walls of their buildings. "Once there is any sort of wireless device on the premises it acts as a point of insecurity by broadcasting company information over the airwaves. Sitting in your parking lot up to 300 feet away from your building with a laptop and an inexpensive piece of software, an outsider could easily see the information being freely broadcast and could wreak by exposing confidential and sensitive company information and manipulating data."
He highlighted the vulnerability of e-mail. "The ease and speed with which a determined hacker could intercept and manipulate e-mail is extremely dangerous. A wireless intruder would be able to respond to your e-mail as if he were you. He could request confidential files and share them with anyone in your address book, expose sensitive company information, and steal competitive sales data."
The Red-M survey quantifies the level of risk within particular industry sectors. 66% of the banks in the survey were found to be transmitting internal information outside the physical walls of their buildings. "They are sharing confidential customer information with anyone who cares to tune in to their airwaves," Feilder said. At least 60% of financial services companies are unwittingly broadcasting confidential information.
Feilder said companies which hadn't installed any wireless technology were as much at risk as those which had. "Wireless is highly promiscuous and it's everywhere today whether we like it or not, from PDAs and mobile phones to notebook computers. Intel's Centrino capability was embedded in 42% of notebook computers shipped last year and will be in 90% of the notebooks that ship this year. Whether you're using that capability or not, every wireless notebook represents a clear and present danger to the security of your computer network. It can't be tethered, measured, or controlled by traditional means," he said.
Only 20% of the companies surveyed had implemented even rudimentary security measures, making a would-be intruder's task a lot more complicated and time consuming. All the others had wireless access points right inside their firewalls.
He recommended that companies review their IT security practices. "Accept that you have wireless technology somewhere inside your building, whether by accident or design. Then define an airtight wireless security policy that balances the need for mobility and freedom with the imperatives of protecting data integrity. Wireless cannot be contained by physical boundaries and controlled by firewalls around a single entry point. It offers infinite entry points and requires nothing less than 24 x 7 vigilance."
Reproduced from an article published by PR Newswire
© PR Newswire
The original article can be viewed here:
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