Internet security challenges is free if no problems

Europe One, a London based IT consultancy is offering to carry out MOT style tests on corporate networks. It says it “will shake people out of their current complacency about Internet security.” Says director Adam Clark: “If we can’t detect any leaks in the network, then we won’t charge a penny for our assessment. [But] so far, we haven’t failed to show up the inadequacies of existing firewall systems… There isn’t a bank, law-firm or stockbroker in Europe that isn’t susceptible to network hackers ranging from script kiddies through to Cyber terrorists. I wonder whether that is factored into their share-price?” The security assessment is one of three services offered by Europe One in its ‘ASI’ (Assess, Secure, Insure) package, claimed to be the first of its kind in the UK. “ASI is the total security package,” says Clark. “It’s a nothing to lose, everything to gain service. With 15 to 30 security risks issued every day, there are a lot of companies out there with everything to lose.” And, just as Europe One is sure that its Assessment service will show up the inadequacies of existing firewalls amnd the like, Clark is equally confident that its Secure Managed Hosting service will offer “a quantum leap forward over any offerings.” He says: “Our hosting facility is called Ultra Secure Hosting Environment (USHE), based on standards laid down by the USA Department of Defense. There’s absolutely no question that it offers unparalleled levels of logical security.” Europe One says there are about 700 ISPs in the UK, “none of which offers a proprietary security system.” It also claims that its USHE has been built from the ground up with software and a methodology that “contrasts starkly” with the hosting farms, that it dismisses as “out of town superstores”. Says Clark: “Our research team recently found references to five vulnerabilities in MS Windows 2000, with no Microsoft patches available for a number of days. That’s not untypical, but it should be causing a lot of headaches in board-rooms around the world.”