Spam. Computer viruses. Network worms. Lost laptops. Stolen handhelds. Penetration of wireless networks by unauthorized users.
Manufacturers have always had security risks, but they could be minimized by taking steps to protect the physical plant and equipment. Today's invader sneaks in unseen over an electronic network and threatens a company's computers, data, and information flows -- ultimately, putting the business itself at risk. What's more, the barriers companies put up to protect against online intruders aren't always effective.
"Most companies put up firewalls in the late 1990s," says Greg Fitzgerald, vice president of marketing at Tipping Point, the security division of 3Com Inc. "But the threats are evolving, and the attacks have continued to get through these technologies." Adds Steve Phillips, senior vice president and CIO at electronics distributor Avnet Inc., "I see many of the same issues and challenges, but the threats have changed."
How are manufacturers coping with this new level of IT risk? Most are beefing up their spending on a host of new technologies aimed at providing more and greater levels of security for networks, servers, desktop PCs, and even mobile devices such as the Blackberry.
Better Security, Higher Productivity
One manufacturer hustling to stay ahead of the IT risk wave is Plantronics, a $560 million maker of headsets. "The world of the network perimeter has certainly changed," says Tom Gill, vice president and CIO at the Santa Cruz, Calif.-based manufacturer that operates plants in Tijuana and Shanghai. "We are very conscious of it, and we're doing our best to protect the enterprise."
An effective security strategy, most experts say, should be fluid, constantly adapting to meet the latest form of e-threat to networks and data while striving to stay a step or two ahead of it. "The manufacturer's goal today is to stay ahead of the attacks by putting a process in place that fixes vulnerabilities before they are exploited," says Mark Nicolett, research director in the information security group at Gartner Group, an IT research firm in Stamford, Conn.
Effective security systems to guard against IT asset risk don't come cheaply, judging from how much corporations are spending on security technologies. Worldwide sales of network security appliances and software hit $1 billion in 2005's third quarter alone, according to Infonetics Research. Virtual private network and financial appliance sales accounted for 77% of the total. Sales of intrusion detection and prevention systems composed 14%, and sales of gateway and anti-virus products accounted for 9%.
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