18 May 2009

Internet dangers for firms highlighted

One of the greatest dangers facing businesses today is the internet and the growth in online attacks against both businesses and individuals, it has been stated.

Roger Thompson, chief research officer at AVG Technologies, advised individuals to use strong, multiple passwords and install anti-virus software on their computers in order to protect against these risks.

He commented: "People need to understand that 99 per cent of all attacks now come via the web and that the goal of all these attacks is to steal someone's identity, not to mention their bank accounts and credit cards."

Furthermore, disaster recovery for businesses can be put in jeopardy by the actions of employees, as not having strong data security procedures in place can result in entire networks becoming compromised, leading to financial losses and reduced productivity.

Meanwhile, the Office of Fair Trading recently published figures which show that 23 per cent of UK internet users said that they, or their close friends and family, had been a victim of phishing scams in the last 12 months.