In a time when the national spotlight is on recent anthrax attacks, Blue Lance is helping to educate the security community on a threat that can be just as deadly to corporations and government agencies alike - hackers and cyber-terrorists within their own organizations.Speaking at the CSI Computer Security Conference Monday, Wayman Thurman, Blue Lance Director of North American Sales, cited FBI statistics and illustrated how the threat to computer-managed assets is often greatest within the firewall.
"It is very easy for companies to assume that by keeping intruders out, their systems and computer records are secure. Unfortunately, that's not reality," said Thurman. "While the number of security breaches from the outside has certainly increased as the Internet has become more pervasive, the percentage of incidents incurred by privileged and authorized users is still extremely high. By ignoring this threat, companies are putting themselves at risk for literally billions of dollars in potential loss."
Thurman referenced published studies indicating that over $200 billion is lost each year due to computer security breaches including virus attacks, and that current statistics indicate anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of those incidents are internally generated. He also talked about current issues in computer security, including the growth in identity theft.
"The most serious financial losses occur through not only financial fraud, but also theft of proprietary information," said Thurman. "This information is not only used against companies from a competitive standpoint, but we're also now at risk for information falling into terrorists' hands."
One of the ways organizations are insuring themselves against significant losses from insiders is by deploying software such as Blue Lance's LT Auditor+, which monitors user activity across company networks and provides real-time alerts on unauthorized access. It also compiles secure audit-trail logs, a critical element necessary for the efficient investigation and criminal prosecution of offenders.
Blue Lance, Inc. has been in business since 1985 and provides corporations and government agencies with user and network surveillance, monitoring, secure audit-trail logs, real-time intrusion alerts, regulatory compliance where applicable, and forensic analysis reporting. Hundreds of organizations, including global and domestic financial institutions, Federal Reserve banks, national security agencies, military services, insurance carriers, healthcare institutions, educational institutions, technology and energy firms use Blue Lance's LT Auditor+. For more information, visit the Blue Lance Web site at www.bluelance.com.
