DiData`s one day IT security audit gaining popularity

Companies that balk at the thought of investing in IT security measures may not realise the value of their information assets, mistakenly believing they do not have much to protect.

"Organisations within the financial services sector have stringent security measures in place because the ramifications of their data being misused are obvious," says Gary Middleton, national sales manager of Dimension Data Security. "Many other companies, however, believe they have no information assets, and that there is therefore no need to protect their systems."

These companies, for example within the manufacturing sector, tend not to look beyond anti-virus protection for their Internet connections. Yet the real value of their information may be vast.

"Companies need to ask themselves what the impact on their business would be if they lost their information," says Middleton.

To help companies answer this vital question, Dimension Data Security offers a one-day auditing workshop service, at the end of which a clear, graphical report gives a snapshot of the company`s security needs, highlighting where they should focus their security efforts.

"Our audit produces a report that compares the company`s existing security measures against the British information security standard, the BS7799," explains Middleton. "The workshop is broad, covering ten major areas ranging from informational assets and disaster recovery to physical and personnel security.

"We work through the questions with key representatives of the company - ideally a staff member who understands the network and IT strategy, and someone representing the business side as well.

"Following this, we print out a comprehensive report which we examine together. We`ve found the service to be extremely popular as it is quick, inexpensive and enables companies to get a handle on where they stand vis a vis security."