[ISN] Small firms advised to hunt out hackers help

From: InfoSec News (alerts@private)
Date: Tue Dec 19 2006 - 23:03:02 PST


http://www.itp.net/news/details.php?id=23232

By Matthew Wade
19 December 2006

SMB owners and managers should hire so-called ethical hackers, either as 
part of their in-house IT teams or on a freelance basis - in order to 
safeguard their data, according to Sanjay Bavisi, president of the 
International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC Council).

Speaking to Windows Middle East during last week's Hacker Halted 
conference in Dubai, Bavisi claimed such a move was well worth the 
outlay, whatever the size of business.

Its not very expensive to hire a guy whos a certified hacker. The 
training is just a couple of thousand dollars, he explained. Some 
managers come back to me and say, What happens if I hire and train them 
and they leave? I answer by asking. What if you hire them and don't 
train them and they stay? Theyll cause more harm.

Although a now relatively accepted IT discipline in the United States, 
ethical hacking - in other words, hacking with good intentions rather 
than an evildoer breaking into a network - is a relatively new concept 
to managers in the Middle East.

Weve been here direct in the Middle East for the past two years and have 
several centres in this area, but theres lots of work to be done before 
ethical hacking is accepted as a daily part of life, before people arent 
asking questions about whether they can trust such employees, said 
Bavisi.

Bavisi went to on to add that smaller companies such as those with 20 or 
30 staff should recruit IT staff very carefully and treat them with the 
utmost of respect.

The world has evolved to the level where its very important that IT 
administrators for such business are hired very carefully, he stated. 
Gone are the days in which you could just set a salary and the best 
looking guy or girl could get the job; now its really important that 
they - SMBs - enforce all the terms of condition of employment.


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