The realities of web security

A five-page primer from one of Europe's leading IT research and consulting firms on why the Web is a dangerous place to do business and how you can protect yourself.

"Today we live in an information age—an era that followed the industrial age—that is characterised by the use of technology in all aspects of life for instant, always-on connectivity to allow real-time communications by any manner of means, including voice, data and video. Interrupting those information flows, which are increasingly transmitted over the internet, has become the prime focus for today’s financially motivated hackers, as such attacks can yield highly prized information, such as personal details or sensitive company information, that can be used for fraudulent purposes.

This paper is the first in a series of four papers that examine the realities of web threats and looks at the promise that cloud-based solutions bring for organisations in terms of providing a higher level of protection against the increasingly complex and sophisticated threats being seen today. Future papers in the series will look at the drivers for web security in the cloud, what components are vital for achieving a good level of protection and the benefits that are available from using protection services based in the cloud. As malware threats continue to rise, this series of papers is intended to be read by organisations in any industry that are trying to stem the tide of increasingly malicious web-borne threats."