Forwarded From: Kjell Wooding <kwoodingat_private> http://www.forbes.com/asp/redir.asp?/tool/html/98/may/0520/side1.htm Computer security: the next big thing? By Om Malik Hackers, corporate spies, curious teenagers and disgruntled employees--these are the new villains for corporate America. They somehow manage to find their way into a company's computer system, and create havoc either destroying or altering files and snooping around in confidential records. (Click here for more on corporate spies.) A 1997 report on computer crime and security conducted by the Computer Security Institute (CSI) reveals that 75% of the 563 companies, government agencies and universities surveyed reported financial losses because of security breaches. According to security software industry sources, in 1997 cybercriminals caused $5 billion worth of damage. The reason is obvious--more computers than ever are connected to networks--internal, external and the Internet--and the number of those connections is going to increase sharply, predicts Nicole Schmidt, an analyst at CIBC Oppenheimer. With so many machines connected to each other, the chances of break-ins will be higher. On the Internet alone, the number of connections will jump to 268 million in 2001 from 82 million in 1997, according to San Jose, Calif.-based market research firm Dataquest. And Framingham, Mass.-based market research group, International Data Corp. (IDC) sees 133 million users connected to corporate intranets by the year 2001. With so many machines connected to each other, the chances of break-ins will be higher. Not only from outsiders, but from insiders, as well. The losses are likely to mount if companies and government organizations do not take preventive measures right away, says John Becker, president and chief executive officer of Axent Technologies (AXNT), a Rockville, Md.-based maker of computer security software. No wonder the spending on computer security software is going to balloon to $13 billion in 2001 from $6.3 billion in 1997, estimates research firm Dataquest. "We are bullish on the long-term fundamentals of the security software industry," says Schmidt. (See "Axent: digital bodyguards.") So far she has not been wrong. The CIBC Security Index is up 459% over the past three years, versus the S&P 500, which is up a mere 103% during the same period. And she predicts that as more and more venture-backed security software companies go public, interest in their stocks will increase. -o- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Repent Security Incorporated [www.repsec.com]
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