23 Apr 2010

IT teams 'to take leading role'

IT professionals should be the ones "steering the ship" when companies look to invest in new technologies, it has been claimed.

Carole Theriault, senior security consultant at Sophos, said that when it becomes time to install network upgrades or new technologies, business leaders should be looking to their IT staff to show them the most feasible and secure ways to do so.

She commented: "I would see it as being one of the basic jobs of an IT team ... they can help the company to make an educated decision as to which approach you want to take."

Ms Theriault added, however, that it can also be advisable for firms to get third-party advice in order to ensure what they are doing is the right decision in terms of network security.

The results of a survey carried out at IT security event Infosecurity Europe showed that the rate of adoption of newer technologies has accelerated over the last two years, but in line with this, so has cybercriminals' abilities to infiltrate these systems.