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 | | POLICE CAUTIONED OVER INCREASED SECURITY RISKS FROM AD HOC COMPUTER NETWORKS | | | Echelon Consulting | | 05/10/2006 | | | One of Britain's leading information security consultants says a key threat facing police computer networks is the failure to integrate systems, making breaches more likely.
Steve Southern, principal consultant with Echelon Consulting, said: 'A piecemeal approach leads to disparate networks comprising many different technologies supported by several service providers, each with their own vested interest.
'This has a tendency to increase the management overhead and total cost of ownership, reduce opportunities for savings and proper return on investment, and make security breaches more likely.'
Echelon, which has worked with police forces throughout Britain, is currently helping several constabularies improve their security, including assessing vulnerabilities and securing mobile devices. It is also feeding back findings to the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), so that it can form an overview of security needs.
Southern added: 'We have seen unstructured and organic network development, often without an overarching or cohesive strategy. Our response to this type of problem is to provide support at both strategic and tactical levels.'
Echelon says the issue is not unique to the law enforcement sector and this year's security breaches survey from the Department of Trade and Industry backs up this view.
The report says: 'In the light of this year's survey results, we have emphasised the importance of adopting an integrated risk-based approach to information security, including consideration of emerging technology. Without this, UK businesses are likely to become increasingly exposed in tomorrow's security landscape.' | |
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