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 THE STAT 26Percentage of wireless customers who use their cell phones to take picturesMore Vitals
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SEPTEMBER 16, 2003
Why Offices Are Now Open Secrets [Page 2 of 2] "HUGE CONCERN." Take Wi-Fi, which can make workers productive even when not at their workstations. "When we do audits at large companies, they tell us they don't have Wi-Fi deployed," says Matthew Tanase, president of St. Louis-based network-security consulting firm Qaddisin. "Inevitably we find a hotspot or two that a department has set up without approval." The problem, as Tanase explains: "That's where you have a huge security concern. Because no one is aware of [the Wi-Fi setup], they have no security precautions in place." One open wireless network could allow any passerby with a $50 wireless networking card to log in to corporate networks and steal valuable customer and financial data. The good news is that securing such technologies isn't rocket science. To protect IM, chief information officers have two choices: One is to let employees use free, consumer versions from AOL (AOL ), MSN (MSFT ), or Yahoo! (YHOO ), then add a layer of security software. Products from startups Face Time and IMlogic allow administrators to monitor, search, and archive all conversations and file transfers that take place over instant messenger. WARNING LABELS. Content filters can be set to pick out obscenities or, in the case of financial-services companies, to note the use of words like "guarantee" or "rumor." Company lawyers can then review those conversations to make sure that no laws or corporate policies have been broken. To counter privacy concerns, IM security products warn users that their conversations are recorded, archived, and monitored. Another route is to use an IM product designed specifically for corporations. IBM's (IBM ) SameTime software is the leader with 50% of the market and $80 million in sales in 2002. The three consumer IM giants -- AOL, Yahoo, and MSN -- all announced last year that they, too, would introduce corporate versions of their popular software with monitoring and archiving features built in. The catch is that none of these corporate products communicate with every consumer IM system, meaning they defeat the goal of instant, seamless communication. Considering that employees who know their IMs are monitored can simply circumvent such security by using the phone, installing a closed IM system is the equivalent of using a cannon to shoot a fly. SECURE TUNNELS. Nevertheless, Robert Mahowald, International Data Corp.'s research manager for collaborative computing, recommends that companies consider these neutered IM systems. The reason: They promise to integrate IM with Internet telephony and videoconferencing. Microsoft says its Live Communications Server 2003 will be available before Sept. 30. With Wi-Fi, setting up security is easier. The Wi-Fi standard, also known as 802.11, was designed with encryption built in, albeit a fairly weak variety. For road warriors -- IDC expects 105 million of them by 2006 -- it's a matter of enabling the security already provided. For corporations, the solution is still a bit tricky: Wi-Fi's standard encryption isn't really good enough to protect the most valuable corporate data. So, a sophisticated hacker who had the time and energy could probably crack it in a few hours. To avoid that, Qaddisin's Tanase recommends that companies install what's known as a virtual private network. This creates a secure "tunnel" between the employee's computer and the corporate network and databases. "Security is often a bit of an afterthought," he adds. "It's not until a product explodes on the scene that it's thoroughly tested." BLURRED LINES. Tanase and others believe that security holes in popular new technologies will ultimately be plugged, the same way IT administrators now control e-mail by restricting file types and sizes, and by filtering out spam. Still, as the lines between work and play become increasingly blurred -- a trend that's unavoidable as more people work after hours and end up using their corporate PCs for personal reasons -- IT administrators will have to be both flexible and vigilant. The new world of ultrafast, adaptable communications demands it.
 By Jane Black in New York
BW MALL
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