As a follow-up to our article last month on computer security, we would like to summarize some data that was brought to our attention about the magnitude of the problem. We found this information interesting and believe that you will also.
The Kensington Technology Group (www.kensington.com) is a company that specializes in computer security, and it looks like they have some excellent products. To highlight the need for their services, they have produced some very interesting research related to theft of computers, primarily notebooks.
As you can imagine, and as the FBI confirms, technology theft is only increasing, going up by about 16% a year. What is the cost of replacing a stolen laptop? It is actually higher than most people first guess.
According to the Kensington report, the initial average estimate that company managers made when asked to put a dollar figure on the loss was $3,605. The survey then went back and asked the respondents to include such factors as software, lost time, insurance premiums, etc. The estimate then jumped to $10,569 (even though the people in the survey overestimated the cost of lost productivity). Industry estimates are even higher, with some that take into account all related costs (including installed software and data) running as high as $32,000. Obviously at this price the primary cost is not that of the lost hardware.
Another group that focuses on computer security is CSI (the Computer Security Institute). They specialize in techniques and educational efforts to reduce the risk of lost computers, either through direct theft or from acts of vandalism or other computer crime. Each year they conduct what they call the "Computer Crime and Security Survey" with the participation of the San Francisco Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Computer Intrusion Squad. They have several stated purposes for this study - 1) To raise the general level of security awareness and 2) To find out the extent of computer related crimes in the US.
In the 2002 survey, they reported that almost ninety percent of respondents (primarily large corporations and government agencies) had discovered some type of security breach during the year, with eighty percent admitting direct financial losses due to those breaches.
As in previous years, the most serious financial losses occurred through direct theft of property, although many respondents cited their Internet connection as a frequent point of attack. Such infractions as employee abuse of Internet access privileges (for example, downloading pornography or pirated software, or inappropriate use of e-mail systems) and computer viruses were listed more frequently than in the year before.
Will a Thin Client keep you from ever having a security problem? No. But Thin Clients significantly reduce the chance for financial loss that exists when full PCs, with installed software and floppy drive access points, are located in every corner of your factory. Centralization of the computer, software and data into a secure, protected environment makes it much easier to monitor and control.
For more information on ACP Industrial Thin Client computers, please visit our web site at http://www.thinmanager.com
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