Copyright 2000 Cox News Service
Cox News Service
November 21, 2000
SECTION: Financial pages
LENGTH: 1003 words
HEADLINE: BUSINESSES RESPOND TO WAVE OF TECHNOLOGY CRIME With COMPUTER-DATA. For
release Sunday, Nov. 26.
BYLINE: BOB KEEFE
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS
BODY:
Businesses are fighting an epidemic of technology crime _ everything from laptop thefts to attacks of
database-killing viruses _ that is spreading almost as fast as technology itself. And as the Internet, the
number of Web-enabled wireless devices and the use of PCs continue to grow, it will only get worse.
Consider:
_ About 90 percent of corporate and governmental agencies surveyed by the FBI and the San
Francisco-based Computer Security Institute in March said they had detected computer security breaches
in the previous 12 months.
_ The number of laptop thefts hit nearly 319,000 last year, up from 303,000 in 1998, according to insurance
company Safeware Inc.
_ E-mail viruses are spreading like wildfire. Anti-virus software company McAfee.com Corp., which tracks
virus outbreaks worldwide on its Web site, estimates more than 3.9 million files were infected by versions
of the ILOVEYOU virus in the last 30 days alone. That's substantially more than McAfee.com tracked
during the first widely publicized outbreak back in May.
Even the biggest companies are finding themselves victims of cybercrime, such as the recent raid on source
code at Microsoft Corp. or the theft of Qualcomm Inc. Chairman Irwin Jacobs' laptop in September.
What's driving the cyber-crime wave are the very things behind the evolution of today's technological age:
The growing ubiquity of computer devices and the seemingly limitless expansion of the Internet.
"More people are becoming networked, more people are using the Internet to conduct business, and more
companies are getting into e-commerce ... but (security) is still woefully inadequate," said Patrice Rapalus,
director of the Computer Security Institute, a group comprised of information security executives.
"Information security departments at most Fortune 1000 companies are understaffed, underfunded,
undertrained and undersupported," he said, "and they aren't paid any attention until something bad
happens."
A recent survey by Forrester Research showed that businesses typically spend just one-tenth of 1 percent
of their annual revenues on security. "Many firms today spend more on coffee than they do on security,"
said Frank Prince, senior analyst at Forrester.
That's changing, however.
Forrester estimates that companies will spend about $5.6 billion on computer security this year. By 2004,
they'll spend nearly $20 billion. Much of that money will go to outside contractors, Forrester predicts, for
everything from access control systems to anti-virus software.
The floor of the Comdex technology convention held here this month showed just how big a market
security may become. Scores of companies are introducing new products aimed at keeping networks safe,
viruses from spreading and portable devices in the right hands.
Models at Comdex urged attendees to "Kill Your Passwords" with fingerprint identification devices
designed to replace them, while salesmen dressed in convict stripes urged potential customers to lock up
their data with new security software.
Online banking company ING Direct was giving away bright-orange computer mice with built-in fingerprint
readers with every new account, pitching consumer privacy as much as high savings account rates. Acer
Computer Corp. showed off a new laptop that comes with a built-in fingerprint recognition scanner.
Biometrics company Identix Inc. took fingerprint Ids a step further, showing off a prototype Motorola
wireless phone that can't be turned on without a correct fingerprint and a Compaq Computer Corp.
personal digital assistant with similar security that's scheduled to hit the market next year. Identix
already has sold about 200,000 plug-in fingerprint scanners to computer makers such as Compaq, Dell
Computer Corp. and, as of last week, Toshiba Corp.
"What's going to happen when you leave your Palm Pilot that's connected to E-trade on the front seat of
your rental car?" asked Identix vice president Bill Spence. "As we move into a wireless world ... and the
more powerful they make these devices, the higher the need for security."
Once limited to realm of government security agencies and law enforcement departments, fingerprint
recognition devices are quickly becoming some of the hottest tools in the fight against corporate cyber
crime. Largely, that's because the costs of the devices have plummeted, from thousands of dollars just a
few years ago to less than $100 for a simple device _ or in the case of ING Direct customers, free.
Fingerprint recognition systems also virtually eliminate password theft, and can cut computer help desk
expenses because unlike passwords, computer users can't lose or forget their fingers.
Other cyber-security companies are betting on service after the steal.
Early next year, Cyber Group Network Corp., a start-up based in San Bernardino, Calif., plans to introduce
"E-Snitch," a device that promises to automatically retrieve any data stored on a stolen laptop.
"How important is the actual unit to anyone?" said spokeswoman Nisha Kapoor. "It's the information on it
that's important to most people."
The E-Snitch also can render a stolen laptop inoperable and beam a radio signal or Internet message to the
company and the laptop's owner if a crook tries to use it.
McAfee.com introduced an online software service at Comdex called Security. Net that allows corporate
PC and wireless device users to get constantly updated anti-virus and anti-hacker software updates at any
time over the Internet.
McAfee.com's phenomenal growth from a just a handful of users a year ago to more than 650,000
subscribers who pay an average of $29 to $33 a month for basic virus software updates is a testament to
how widespread computer crimes, and concerns about them, are becoming.
"I'll be honest with you," said McAfee.com President Srivats Sampath, " whenever we have a big virus
outbreak, we all have a smile on our faces."
Bob Keefe's e-mail address is bkeefe(at)coxnews.com
ENDIT
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