Sept. 11's Impact On Data Security Is Limited

By Tom Smith

Big enterprises were hit by hacker attacks in 2001 significantly more than small and medium companies. And despite the focus on corporate data security after Sept. 11, big companies haven't significantly changed their thinking about their approach to data security.

Those are two of the key findings in a recent study of 405 corporate LAN managers conducted in February by In-Stat/MDR.

The researcher found that the highest percentage of companies that had been attacked by hackers in 2001 (44 percent) were in the enterprise space, which In-Stat/MDR defines as companies with more than 1,000 employees. The next highest percentage is medium-size businesses, with 100 to 999 employees. Of those firms, 36 percent said they'd been hit by hackers.

“If you're a hacker who's looking to become famous, you're not going to go after a site no one has ever heard of,” said In-Stat/MDR analyst Jaclynn Bumback. What's more, it's the largest companies with heavy-duty technology and security infrastructures that have the technology wherewithal to even realize they're being attacked or have been attacked, she added.

When the total base of 405 companies is included, 30.4 percent reported being attacked by hackers in 2001.

The events of Sept. 11 have frequently been cited as a motivator that pushed companies to re-evaluate and even bolster their security infrastructures. Yet the In-Stat/MDR data suggest that companies haven't significantly changed their perspective, or their spending, when it comes to security.

Among the total base of companies, 18 percent said they're more concerned about network security after Sept. 11. But 80 percent said their level of concern is the same as it was before, while less than 1 percent say they're less concerned.

“It could be that they're being optimistic, but it also could be that before Sept. 11 they were already concerned about security,” Bumback said.

In a very similar finding, 84 percent of respondents said their company's spending on security is the same as it was before Sept. 11, while just 11 percent are spending more.