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PRESS RELEASE
The Integrity News
Vol. XII No. 28
ISSN 1081-2717

October 14, 2003


The Integrity Center, Inc.
"objective risk management services"


Be Careful With
Instant Messaging
and Wi-Fi

These technologies are very popular. Your workers can be more productive. However, hackers and thieves may have easy access.

It is estimated by market researchers that at the end of 2003, 90% of corporations will have  Instant Messaging (IM) software operating on their networks.

By late 2005, 100 million workers will have  their mobile equipment communicating using  Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks where they are connected at ultra-fast speeds without any  cables.

In this new world of ultra-fast and highly adaptable communications, IT and other corporate managers must be knowledgeable, vigilant and understanding.

The fundamental problem is that employees will find ways of integrating these technologies into their work lives because they know that they increase productivity.  But that means that companies can be less secure because in an ad hoc setup, there is little or no security protocol in place.

Corporations know that the increased productivity of their employees can come with increased security risks. They know that when employees download their own IM software, for instance, IT managers lose control.

They also know that when they are not aware of an in-house Wi-Fi setup, no security precautions, or at best weak built-in encryption, are in place. An open wireless network can allow any passerby with an inexpensive wireless networking card to log in to the corporate network and steal valuable data.

Proprietary information and infected documents can travel over unmonitored channels. The financial and health-related industries, for example, MUST be able to track, monitor, and store communications in order to comply with Federal law.

There are software products in the marketplace that allow administrators to monitor, search, and archive all conversations and file transfers that take place using Instant Messaging. For privacy reasons, the IM users are then warned that their conversations are being monitored, recorded, and archived. There are even commercially available industrial strength IM systems available, with more coming in 2004.

The security of Wi-Fi is a little trickier. Your company data are out on the airwaves. Because employees like the unfettered portability, better security is now being developed. In the meantime, companies can install Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that allow employees to log in to the company network from any Internet connection. This admittedly does cut down on portability, but the user has a secure connection.


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