30 Mar 2009

Measures 'must be taken' to stop hackers

Businesses are being urged to adopt security measures to reduce the threat of hackers.

Implementing protection programmes which block attempts to distribute malicious software should be a key priority, claims Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at IT security specialist Sophos.

He claims anti-virus programmes should be installed and kept up to date to ensure organisations receive maximum protection at all times.

"I don't mean monthly updates or weekly updates - your anti-virus software should be looking to see if there are any updates on an hourly basis," he comments.

Mr Cluley adds that companies such as Microsoft and Mozilla Firefox provide regular patches which can also be used to bolster protection.

Closely monitoring which websites are visited and avoiding suspicious emails and attachments is a further way of protecting the company from loss, the expert concludes.

An episode of the BBC technology programme Click recently revealed most computers have security systems that need to be switched on and kept updated to protect them against the evolving threat of hackers.