What's New: Humans Are Top Security Concern

As software security improves, crooks are targeting humans instead of programs. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point performed a study in 2004 that showed 80-90% of students clicked on a link in a official-sounding yet fake e-mail requesting the student confirm certain information, even after several hours of security instruction.

As long as humans are willing to open files and click on links in e-mails they receive, or put CDs they receive into their computers, this type of social engineering will be a concern. ITS has written about social engineering in past articles, but it continues to be a concern for security experts. The best protection is to educate your employees.

Wednesday, Nov 15, 2006 09:25 am CST

Tell a friend about this news item!

Return to the article list...