The International Data Corporation (IDC) has said that cybercrimes are clear and present dangers which must be taken seriously by individuals, governments and organizations.
Lise Hagen, research manager, Software & IT Services, IDC (Africa), told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that findings on cybercrimes showed that that are “politically driven” and that targets have been on high value assets / institutions.
She said that IDC researches showed that availability of “criminal services” is growing and rising forces of “hacktivism”.
Upon that corporations are still foot-dragging with regards making enough budgetary allocations to tackling IT security matters.
“There are widening budget gaps when compared to the threats. I think the focus should also embrace devising new strategies to tackle the problems. And that will be dependent on how claver you invest. It is a combination of investment and building of skills presently for the future. It is not just about the work place, we have to start educating people, even in schools; it is a programme for the whole society. The essence is for people to get into the web space and get the required skills. The other part of it is for companies to be strict about the implementation of their set standards or security policies. And that implies not being defensive,” she added.
Commenting on IT heads convincing management on budgets, Hagen said, “First and foremost, if you can give them business value; for instance letting them know the impact attacks will have on the business, the loses and delays, the general risks assessments, they will definitely respond. People compare notes. Unfortunately, most companies would wait until there is a major damage before they realize you are not just crying wolf.
“In other words, as an IT head do not relent in educating the executive not just to invest, rather continue to highlight the impact if disaster occurs. It is also important to get one key stakeholder that defends you at board level. If you can change the mind of one person on senior executive level if you have gotten an advocate; he will keep on banging the drums. And we must realize it is not just IT issue rather it is a business issue”.
Meanwhile, at the recent IDC road show, it has been revealed that greater percentage of IT breaches now stem from internal threats.
“Like one of the stakeholders stated during the road show you do not give people in an organisation any right to disrupt the system. You do not allow them access to the internet or to do anything. That is actually a very defensive-protection measure and in some industries it may work. But on the whole, it is not a viable option, because the world is changing too fast, especially now emphasis is shifting to Bring Your Own device (BYOD).
“So, I will still suggest educating the workforce and doing predictive analysis on your workforce. During the process, the Human Resources person should be linked up with what the IT is doing. For instance, if someone has resigned they is probably a chance he did for not been happy with the company, just control it. It cannot always be a big brother thing, depending on how you handle it, internal IT security threats can be mitigated.
“And some software companies not tackling issues related to security breaches right from the time of developing the software contribute to the headaches people are having. However, we also have to look at where the software is situated for usage. At the same time, we should be careful about how we apply the software, particularly when the issue of intellectual property is involved. Thus, some of the software companies really have to demonstrate value before people will be willing to pay a premium for their products.
“Part of the education has to start with the government. They have to be strict and ensure that before a company is given certificate or licence to develop software credibility has to be one of the criteria. When they do that, or set example with erring ones others will seat up. That will create room for expertise to shine and heighten the value that will stimulate the IT industry in Africa,” the IT research expert added.