Financial issues highlighted at LV show

Chris Jones

Thursday, May 9, 2002 | 11:05 a.m.

Computer-related attacks on technology infrastructures routinely cost businesses billions of dollars worldwide, and a panel of experts said Wednesday the frequency of such attacks is likely to rise.

"(Business) networks are becoming more open, and while that increases their ease of access to customers and employees, it also opens them to more risk," said John Gallant, president and editorial director of networking industry trade publication Network World. "And a threat to our networks is a threat to our economy."

Gallant's remarks came during a panel discussion featuring five Internet security experts at the NetWorld+Interop trade show in Las Vegas. He added business leaders can no longer afford to overlook the importance of network security.

Statistics from the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) -- a federally funded organization devoted to Internet security -- show there were nearly 27,000 unique cyber attacks reported worldwide during the first quarter of 2002. That bests the 21,000 such incidents reported in all of 2000 and is more than half of the 52,658 total for last year.

Cyber attacks have a tremendous affect on the world economy. Last summer's Code Red virus had an economic impact of $2.6 billion, according to a CERT report. Damages from the Sircam virus cost businesses an estimated $1.3 billion to repair.

Unfortunately, computer networks used by businesses both big and small have become vulnerable to new kinds of attacks, said Christopher Klaus, founder and chief technology officer for Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems Inc. Among the most troublesome newcomers are so-called "hybrid threats," which combines several techniques to infiltrate a network, Klaus said.

"(Hybrids) affect a network through multiple channels and do a lot more damage in less time than the simpler viruses we've seen in the past," Klaus said.

And because hackers can easily create new programs, it's nearly impossible to develop antivirus programs capable of preventing hybrid attacks, said Sandra England, executive vice president with Santa Clara, Calif.-based Network Associates.

"You can't develop a cure for something you've never seen," England said.

Business leaders must also watch out for internal threats, said Robert Thomas, chief executive officer of NetScreen Technologies Inc., a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based firm that specializes in network security.

"Human resources databases, intellectual property and financial records are all vulnerable to attack, and statistics have shown most of those attacks have come internally from disgruntled employees or others who want to harm their employer," Thomas said.

The private sector and government agencies are constantly working to improve the safety of business infrastructures. Still, it's impossible to totally safeguard a network, said John Roese, chief technical officer for Enterasys Networks. He called upon business leaders to develop strategies that will minimize damages once a cyber-action is received.

"I think companies need to focus on how to react to a threat," Roese said. "You'll never be absolutely protected, but it helps to have a plan in place once you've been attacked."