Small firms more susceptible to cyber crime

CHICAGO (Reuters.com) - A couple years ago a crippling cyber attack on one of Nanette Lepore's haute couture boutiques served as a wakeup call for the fashion retailer to get serious about its online security.

In 2007, Nanette's Las Vegas store had its router hacked by a cyber criminal and confidential point-of-sale information was accessed, potentially impacting hundreds of the company's well-heeled patrons. The sensitive data was then transferred to Italy, where it was used to create phony credit cards that were subsequently distributed in Spain.

After a meeting with FBI and local crime officials, the Caesars Palace store was shut down during crucial Saturday shopping hours, but the company gained a valuable lesson about protecting its data.

"If they can gain access to your network routers, you're pretty much an open book," said Jose Cruz, Nanette Lepore's director of information technology, who has since developed a Fort Knox-like security protocol for the confidential information flowing through the company's 10 boutiques and its New York headquarters. "The first thing I did was lock it all down."

Unfortunately Nanette Lepore is not alone among small and medium-sized businesses for its lack of planning for a cyber attack. A new study issued by the National Cyber Security Alliance and software company Symantec confirmed that small businesses are among the most vulnerable to Internet crime due to their unstructured approach to online security.

The study found only 28 percent of small businesses have formal Internet security policies, despite the fact they store valuable data such as credit card information, financial records, intellectual property and other sensitive content online. Only 35 percent of the small businesses polled provided any training to employees about Internet safety and security, according to the study, which surveyed 1,500 firms across the United States. At the same time, 86 percent of respondents had no single individual focused on IT issues. More...

11-08-2009 12:21