According to the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), 35% of companies suffered a virus attack in 2002. Compare this figure with the ‘love bug’ era, when roughly twice this number were hit, and you realise how much progress has been made combating virus attacks.
But as one threat diminishes, another is spiralling upwards. In the same report, 51% of businesses admitted to being victims of a hacking, unauthorised access or data misuse incident. Increasingly, the focal point for these data-motivated attacks is the wealth of private and confidential information held within e-mail. It is worth comparing how many firms protect their physical and electronic information. Hard copy documents are typically locked away in filing cabinets which, in turn, are stored in locked offices and buildings. When sent externally, physical files are sealed in envelopes and marked ‘private and confidential’ to protect their confidentiality.
