Majority of Firms Have Security Policy

As companies expand their use of the Internet from basic email and intranets to offering customers products and services to customers, Internet security is becoming more of an issue.

A recent Internet security survey of 346 companies by Cahners In-Stat Group found that 88 percent of the companies surveyed have some form of Internet/network security policy in place. The most common security components are anti-virus, firewalls, routers, and authentication, the survey found. Not surprisingly, the survey found that those businesses that conduct e-commerce are significantly more conscious of security issues.

While the implementation of security is strong across all fields, small firms are slightly more likely to implement security measure (44 percent vs. 36 percent for large firms). The survey found that efforts are still needed to convince corporations that the Web is safe enough for their mission-critical corporations. Only 26 percent of the respondents said they felt the Web was safe for mission-critical applications, and the survey found this number will only rise to 38 percent by the turn of the century.

Other findings of the survey include:

• 65 percent of those surveyed say the Internet is safe for e-commerce, up from 37 percent in 1996
• 71 percent believe the Internet is safe for remote access virtual private networks (VPN)
• 69 percent believe the Internet is safe for extranet VPN with partners
• 69 percent believe the Internet is safe for branch office connectivity VPN
• 68 percent believe the Internet is safe for extranet VPN with customers