Cloud computing and social networking leave manufactures exposed

Undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the survey shows that cyber attacks have doubled in the last two years, in line with the rate of adoption of newer technologies, such as wireless networking, remote access and VoIP. Some 85% of smaller organisations said they were using wireless, almost double the use in 2008. The number of organisations allowing staff to have remote access to their systems has also increase with nine tenths of large companies now doing this. Chris Potter, partner, OneSecurity, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, suggests that, as organisations have looked to cut their IT costs, they have increasingly turned to external providers to host applications – the result being that SaaS (software as a service) and cloud computing are now used by more than three-quarters of the organisations polled. Coincidentally, he says, there has been an explosion of new cyber attacks. Indeed, 61% of large organisations have detected a significant attempt to break into their network in the last year, twice as many as two years ago. Also, some 15% have detected actual penetration by an unauthorised outsider into their network in the last year, and it is likely that many more were undetected. 25% of large organisations have also suffered a denial of service attack in the last year, also more than double the proportion in 2008. "Very few organisations are encrypting data held on virtual storage, including the cloud, observes Potter. "Worryingly, only 17% of those with highly confidential data at external providers ensure that it is encrypted," he adds. And just as worrying: "Virtualisation and cloud computing seem to be set to follow the trend, established over the last decade, of controls lagging behind adoption of new technologies. Given the increased criticality and confidentiality of information held on virtual storage, organisations need to respond quickly to close this control gap," says Potter.