Security and products; 80 percent of SMBs fear a threat.McAfee, Inc. and MessageLabs have announced global research that reveals the majority of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) believe an IT security breach would be detrimental det·ri·men·tal adj. Causing damage or harm; injurious. det  ri·men in achieving their
business priorities. However, few are overtly o·vert adj. 1. Open and observable; not hidden, concealed, or secret: overt hostility; overt intelligence gathering. 2. proactive in their fight against infringements due to resource restrictions from other business related priorities. The latest industry research, "SMBs in a Connected World: Business Success Means Facing New IT Security Threats," conducted by research firm IDC and commissioned by MessageLabs and McAfee, found that 80 percent of the 450 SMB (1) (Small to Medium-sized Business) Also called "SME" (small to medium-sized enterprise), it refers to companies that are larger than the small office/home office (SOHO), but not huge. IT decision makers interviewed feared an IT security threat such as an email virus See e-mail virus. . However, as senior SMB IT professionals are more entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. in the company's day-to-day business than enterprise CIOs, they are less able to take on a proactive approach to security threats. The IDC research indicates that company size plays an important role in the way senior management views security. Firmly linking IT security to the business health and success of the SMB community, the research shows that only eight percent of respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. stated that improving IT security was a top business priority. Furthermore, enterprise CIOs place IT security at a much higher level of importance than SMB IT professionals. IDC raises the question: "How can SMBs face present and future threats while being occupied by daily tasks?" Despite a clear understanding of the threat situation and its potential effect on the well-being of the company, the biggest challenge SMBs face in 2007 are reactive, maintenance-focused activities such as keeping up-to-date with security solutions (39 percent), keeping up-to-date with new threats (38 percent) and keeping costs down (33 percent). SMBs are more focused on keeping the business operating rather than strategically planning for future threats. IDC states that managed security services Security services are state institutions for the provision of intelligence, primarily of a strategic nature, but also including protective security intelligence. Examples include the Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in the United Kingdom, and the provide an effective and responsive answer to the dilemma in the SMB community, one of its top 10 predictions for the IT security market in 2007. www.mcafee.com |
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