For many businesses, justifying a budget for IT security remains a perennial challenge.

As part of McAfee's participation in E-security Awareness Week, I've spent the last three days talking directly to customers at an Executive Summit we hosted in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, and gleaned some of the challenges organisations are currently facing.

In the context of what challenges face CxO's and security managers when it comes to better securing corporate networks and managing risk, there is a definite sense of this being a "work in progress". Their call was to make the proposition simpler while providing higher levels of protection and compliance.

These stakeholders understand the evolving complexity and escalation of threats to their organisations and their data.  On the one hand they are witnessing a proliferation of "smart" devices, many of which are being carried into the office and connected up to the corporate network without being properly checked for malware or not having the disk encrypted in the event of the device being lost.

By Dr Martyn Wild

Our kids might understand and recite the safety messages we tell them, but this rarely has much impact on their everyday behaviours.

The cybersafety discussion is more important today than it has ever been. Not simply because of the scare stories that are emerging with ever-increasing frequency (only last Thursday [5 June] we witnessed large numbers of Australians, including at least one teacher and a police officer, identified in the worst type of child exploitation). But more so because, (i) children are changing their use of the Internet; and (ii) their parents are evidently not taking responsibility for the implications that arise from that use.

New data arising from studies very recently conducted in the UK and Australia tell us that 57% of parents are not aware how to keep their children safe online, what actions to take to minimise potential adverse impacts on their children's well-being or even what to do at times of crisis.  

By Julie Inman-Grant

While we all have our own safety guidance, coming together to consolidate these messages and working across sectors is critical to making impact with consumers.

What's the first thing you do when you leave you house? If you're like me, and most people I assume you check that you've got your keys and turn around and lock the door. It's such a simple, and probably entirely automatic act, but it's a crucial step in protecting your home and family from invasion and theft.

But what do you do when you get up and leave your computer? Do you have a lock in place, do you have protection against viruses, and do you let people you don't know into your life, sharing with them private information?  What we're essentially talking about is "physical security" and therefore we must secure our computers with technology in the same way we secure the doors to our homes.

By Rob Forsyth

The worldwide revenue from cybercrime is now more than $100 billion per year - this is the extent to which organised crime has embraced the internet.

Why should you be interested in the message of e-security week?

Let's imagine, for a moment, that you are already familiar with the many risks on the internet. Your employer is running good software at your email and web gateways. Your HR department regularly gives you sound security advice, such as not opening unexpected attachments, even from people you trust. (How do you know they really sent it?)

You have an active firewall; you use strong passwords and protect them; you bank using two-factor authentication; and you don't surf to internet sites that aren't related to your business. You're protecting yourself, and you realise that at the same time you are protecting the next guy, too, through responsible internet citizenship.