The Network Security and Data Protection Conference and Showcase 2008 (Security World 2008), under the main theme “Strengthening Security Awareness and Deployment”, will take place the 19th and 20th of March 2008 in Hanoi. This event is organised by the General Department of Technology of the Ministry of Public Security and the International Data Group (IDG Vietnam).
Security World 2008 will be organised on a large scale, with the participation of famous speakers from major technology organisations and groups in the region and the world. Topics addressed will include risk management, security in business, data security and system safety, network security and security supervision. Aiming to share speakers’ experiences in system security as well as the importance of the construction and development of security systems in organisations and enterprises with readers, Vietnam Business Forum would like to extract some opinions of security experts. They will also offer predictions about security trends in the future.
Mr Craig Johnston, Asia Pacific regional Channel Manager, ESET, LLC
The development of an effective IT security system is paramount to any business that utilizes computer systems to do their business, especially if their systems communicate with othe
rs outside their organisation. Having effective IT security is also necessary for home users, even if they don’t realise it. The value of effective IT security is found in what is more likely to NOT happen to them, not necessarily what WILL be gained through the effect of the security systems.
In my opinion, security products will become more versatile with the integration of a number of security functions all rolled into one piece of hardware or software. Security products will also become easier to set up, use and administer.
We pledge ESET is always willing to share the latest developments and trends with other IT Security vendors and stake holders. This can be seen by ESET’s involvement in global IT Security communities and organisations such as AVIEWS, AVAR, CARO and AMSTO, and their involvement in IT Security conferences such as Security World 2008.
Ms Elaine Lee, Market Analyst, Software & Hardware, International Data Corporation-IDC
Information is an essential resource for all business today and is the key to growth and success. It is vitally important to ensure that information held in IT systems is secure. Its availability, integrity and confidentiality may be critical for the
continued success of business. Security can be breached in a number of ways, including by system failure, theft, inappropriate usage, unauthorized access or computer viruses. The impact of a security breach can be far greater than expected. This loss of sensitive or critical information can affect business performance and as well as reputation. It might take a few years of business to establish a good reputation and image, but a security breach could destroy this in a matter of hours. As such, security remains a top concern of organisations.
As security threats are becoming more ingenious, user requirements become increasingly complex, and users will look out for innovation from security vendors that allow them to improve their business productivity and efficiency at a lower cost. These requirements have led to innovative security products which are less complex, cost saving, and higher value for the money, as vendors bundle new features in product.
Mr Thomas Parenty, Director, Information Security Services, Hill & Associates Ltd
I think information security in IT applications is inadequate because (1) it doesn’t have the features organisations need and (2) the implementations are vulnerable to attack.
Although the situation is changing some, most enterprises are concerned about protecting themselves from an external network attack and do not seriously address data protection from inside attacks.
In fact, high tech criminals appear to be an inevitable thing in our world. In order to effectively protect themselves, enterprises should focus on protecting their information and not focus just on protecting their computers.
One success is an Asian utilities company. In addition to other measures, they followed secure programming practices for their Internet-facing applications and performed vulnerability testing before they were deployed. One failure was a Japanese ASP who did not provide network segmentation between clients and did not provide firewall or anti-virus protection.
For network security, my recommendation is that enterprises follow well-established, best practices. Data protection, at a high level, involves two tasks. First, ensure users only have access to the information they need to do their job. Second, ensure that users can only use information for its intended purpose. The technologies and techniques for this second task are still evolving.
Ms Vilaiporn Taweelappontong, Director in Security Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers Bangkok
Information is essential to today’s business and its confidentiality, integrity and availability is the key to business growth. As information systems and networks are more complex and face threats from various sources, increasingly sophisticated methods are required to protect information. Many systems have not been designed to be secure and in many cases, are prone to becoming victim to an attack. A strong security system is important for organisations to protect critical infrastructure and information. Security has also become a business enabler and has become crucial to maintaining competitive edge, compliance and image.
In the fields of finance and accounting, security has become even more critical to prevent tampering with data, fraud or information disclosure.
Over the years, the threats have evolved and organisations are seeking the highest level of control. We expect to see more advanced tools to help automate control, prevent weaknesses from being exploited and better detect attacks or attempts to attack the network.
Security is not only about keeping out the bad guys or protecting the network from being hacked, it’s about protecting your business. We look forward to seeing everyone at Security World 2008!
Mr Nguyen Tu Quang, Director of BKIS
Currently, most agencies and enterprises in Vietnam think that computer viruses are a difficult matter to solve and that there is no useful methods to prevent them. Meanwhile, computer viruses still cause big losses for the community every day. According to the survey of Bkis Network Security Centre in 2007
, computer viruses caused losses of more than VND2,300 billion (US$143.75 million), a huge amount of money, in Vietnam.
It is a serious concern that most these organisations and enterprises neither used copyrighted anti-virus software nor hired anti-virus services from producers. When facing threats from computer viruses, they often tackled the problem themselves, and in the end the situation got worse. In the speech at the Security World Conference 2008, I will introduce reasons for the above situation and answer the question of how difficult it is to deal with viruses.
Bkis now is distributing Bkav anti-virus software on the market, with more than 9.5 million users, providing training programmes for BCSE network security experts and network security services. Bkis is the network security consultant for most important agencies of the government.
Mr Sunil Chavan, Director – Enterprise Content Archival Solutions, Asia Pacific, Hitachi Data Systems
Developing an integrated Security system for Finance is critical in today’s world, considering the dynamic nature of business and threats from natural disasters and terrorism. Compliance and regulations form an integrated part of today’s business environment and every financial institution in Asia has to gear up towards global compliance. Content Archival Infrastructure is the backbone of this infrastructure to protect information about your business and customers.
Hitachi would share the strategy on Content Archival Infrastructure for Financial Institutions. It is critical to understand that no individual technology or product implementation will ensure an organisation will be judged as compliant by its governing or regulating body. Instead, an organisation must implement appropriate business processes, policies, and safeguards in conjunction with carefully considered technology choices in order to achieve proper compliance. A specific technology or product choice in and of itself will not guarantee compliance. This is a very important and often overlooked point.
Huyen Nhi
Vietnamese
