Event Summary
In an effort to assist corporations in preventing security related losses, Ernst & Young announced that it is spinning off a new online security venture. The new venture's premiere product line is their Security Vulnerability Assessment service.
Market Impact
By having an outside objective security vulnerability assessment, IT organizations can feel secure in that they have at least attempted to thwart-off cybercrime and Internet attacks. A security vulnerability assessment lets you know what the status of your network is at a given moment in time. With near 1200 or so security consultants, and security educators that understand security well-enough to teach security penetration testing to fellow industry security experts (eXtreme Hacking), Ernst & Young is positioned well to offer a robust service in this area.
As well, eSecurityOnline has over 1000 security resources available for public viewing. Their security content includes educational materials, product reviews, vendor reviews, and other security news that can help IT security departments stay abreast of current threats and trends.
User Recommendations
With security violations growing at a rapid pace, just keeping up with cybercrime, let alone conquering it, is a daunting task. Any organization that performs transactions over the Internet should have a security vulnerability assessment done each quarter. Subscribing to an SVA annual service is one way to show that your organization has taken due diligence to prevent security intrusions.
An SVA assessment does not guarantee that your network or website will not be broken into. However, it does educate you about what holes currently exist and what can be done to close them. Once your company gets broken into, it looks a lot better to say, "At least we tried to prevent it," then to say, "Oops. We have never had a security vulnerability assessment done."
For Internet companies, having an SVA done should be like going to the dentist - you do it on a regular schedule, and remedy problems as you find them. Internet security is an on-going process that requires constant attention - it can't be solved by purchasing shrink-wrapped security products alone.