In June, ComputerScope, in association with Sophos, carried out a network security survey among its readership. Two hundred and thirty five respondents, a mix of IT managers or equivalent and IT decision makers, gave their insights. The organisation size of the sample group was 46% from medium to large organisations and 54% from small to medium, with 36% being at senior IT level.
Perhaps the single most interesting result was that only 7% said that they had experienced network downtime as a result of a malware infection in the last 12 months, with 91% saying they had no malware downtime. Just 2% said they did not know. It may be argued that the specifics of the question perhaps narrowed the response and as such may serve to downplay the prevalence and effects of malware infections. However, it does shows that Irish organisations do not seem to have suffered significant network downtime as a result of malware, despite its increasing proliferation, sophistication and variation.
The trend towards less defined networks perimeters and more mobile workers was highlighted in planned actions for the next 12 months. Some 38% said that they were going to enable remote working, while a third said that they would allow users to bring their devices (BYOD). However, the 45% that said they would update their wireless network may be somewhat at odds with the 71% who said that they were either confident or very confident about their wireless network security. There was a relatively small 12% who said that they were either not very or not all confident in their wireless network security.
Interestingly in network security plans for the next 12 months, 51% intend to cut costs by virtualising network infrastructure while 42% will consolidate existing security solutions under fewer vendors. THIs is reflective of a widespread trend that contradicts previous wisdom in this area, namely to have a variation of vendors and tools at various levels. In the past it was thought that a different filter at the gateway to that on the desktop gave added protection. This has given way to more integrated suites from a single supplier, which arguably has seen ultimate expression in the emergence of unified threat management (UTM) appliances.
Dermot Hayden, sales manager Ireland, Sophos, points out that UTM appliances are now available in virtual form that can be hosted in the likes of the Amazon cloud to help organisations in virtualisation plans for network security. It gives organisation flexible deployment options, argues Hayden, without compromising on capability or features. The UTM approach has also the benefits of being scalable, which comes into play when adding additional sites such as branch offices or protecting a growing band of remote or mobile workers, Hayden points out.
As regards budget, 24% said that they expect to have a reduced network security budget but will be expected to maintain the same service levels. Forty three per cent expect IT security budgets to remain the same, with 17% expecting an increase to meet business and security requirements.
"Businesses are looking for a new way to deliver more intelligent integrated network and endpoint security," said Hayden. "A unified approach not only helps businesses make hard pressed budgets stretch further, it also delivers better security that’s easier to manage at the same time."
Looking specifically at multisite and remote workers, 37% of respondents said that up to 10% of the workforce is outside of the central office or at remote sites. Up to a quarter of the workforce offsite came in at 18% and up to half came in at 16%, up to three quarters was at 13% and beyond three quarters still came in at 8%. The obvious conclusion is that a significant element of the workforce working offsite or remotely is now the norm for Irish organisations of all sizes and network security must adapt accordingly.
Hayden commented that remote access appliances can now be fully integrated with UTM appliances, further reducing both the cost and complexity of provisioning and managing such access.
Given the nebulous nature of today’s networks and distribution of users, the challenges faced are illuminating. Where respondents were asked to indicate their top three challenges, managing the devices that provide the now obligatory remote access came in first, with 71% indicating that it was their number one or number to challenge. Applying this net positive indicator to the other categories, troubleshooting issues came in next, with securing communication connections to central infrastructure third.
These trends are carried forward as respondents were asked about emerging challenges. The greatest challenge was still managing mobile devices that access company resources, followed by the proliferation of more sophisticated threats highlighted. In third was the growing need to use cloud-based services. However, the combined 59% who said that co-ordinating gateway and endpoint security was their top or second concern demonstrates that organisations are looking for better ways to deploy and manage the infrastructure necessary both to meet the needs of users internally and to protect against external threats.
"Small and medium businesses can now have Security as a Service from endpoint to network with all elements working intelligently together and delivered by partners as a cloud service," said Hayden, highlighting the flexibility that is now available in the market.
Supporting the sentiments expressed on performance and capability, cost of ownership was highlighted by only 22% as the most important factor in choosing a network security solution. Coming in ahead was support offered at 26%, with scalability at 19% showing that expansion and accommodating more users is high on the agenda for Irish organisations.
"We see a UTM based approach as a hugely compelling proposition for businesses with up to 1,000 employees where the skills and budgets are in short supply, rather than continuing with the more costly and fragmented standalone approach of the past," said Hayden.
In stark contrast to a vision of opening up to remote users, accommodating personal devices and an increasing number of mobile operatives is the set of responses around firewalls. A surprising 25% said that their firewall was five years old or more, with 24% saying it was ten years or more. Only 21% say that their firewalls are less than two years old.
The overall picture that emerges from the survey is that in face of increasingly sophisticated threats, with 39% indicating that a direct attack on their web site is an emerging challenge, combined with the pressure to provide access to user devices and accommodate a growing cohort of mobile workers, Irish organisations are looking for tools and services that will allow them to achieve their aims while keeping costs down and increasing manageability. There appears to be a willingness to embrace emerging technologies such as cloud based services, but also a widespread acceptance of unified solutions, such as UTM, to achieve these aims.
The emphasis on scalability for network security solutions shows that Irish organisations expect to have to support increasing numbers of users, whether they are onsite, remote or mobile, which reflect the wider trends seen across EMEA and the US.
"Businesses are looking for a new way to deliver more intelligent integrated network and endpoint security. A unified approach not only helps businesses make hard pressed budgets stretch further, it also delivers better security that’s easier to manage at the same time. Every business that’s expected to do the same or more with less budget must consider a unified rather than ‘stovepipe’ approach if security is not to be negatively impacted," warned Hayden.
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