"Companies Ignore DSL Dangers"

Users of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) broadband services are five times more likely to be affected by online attacks than those using dial-up connections, according to a recent report from analyst firm the Yankee Group.

The firm's research indicates that the number of 2Mbit/s business DSL lines backed by service level agreements (SLAs) in the USA will reach 610,000 by the end of this year, and over one million by 2006.

This might cause problems for some companies. "DSL connections significantly increase security risks because the connection is usually always up, often 24 hours a day, seven days a week," states the report. "Taking into account the frequency of security attacks over the course of a day, a DSL connection increases the likelihood of attack by five times." Despite the obvious risks, many businesses using DSL links have not implemented appropriate safeguards against hackers and viruses.

Simon Jackson, head of marketing and communications for an ISP company, commented: "There's still a lot of lethargy regarding security within businesses,said . A lot of companies say they don't handle sensitive information, but they often keep customers' and employees' home addresses in contact databases."

The report says firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion detection systems (IDSs), and email and content filtering tools are the best technologies for preventing system downtime and lost revenues caused by hackers and virus attacks, and it recommends the use of multiple defences.

"Firewalls provide perimeter protection to a company, validating the flow of information to and from the business, but also blocking potential intruders. However, firewalls do not protect against viruses and worms associated with web browsing, emails and other business applications," states the Yankee Group's report.

Jackson agreed that simply attaching a firewall to DSL connections is not enough to stop intruders, because hackers may devise new methods of attack that the firewall might not check for. He argued that firms need managed security services to ensure that firewalls, antivirus software and other systems are properly and regularly configured and updated.

"A firewall is only as good as the day you put it in," said Jackson. "Some firms might have IT departments that maintain their firewalls very well, but the biggest strain is updating firewalls on branch office and teleworker connections, because you have to rely on users to do it."