Antivirus Is Not Enough

Written by: Randy Cochran, VP of Americas Channel Sales for Symantec

Protecting critical information is critical to a business’ success. Like their enterprise counterparts, small businesses safeguard their data to stay ahead of the competition and remain profitable. However, while they understand the need for security, small businesses often do not have the staff or time to devote to it. This gives solution providers a unique opportunity to help protect small businesses from the risk of external security threats or from system failures and disruptions.

A recent Symantec survey showed that despite understanding the security risks they face, a surprising number of small businesses are neglecting basic safeguards. For example, three of five (59%) have not implemented endpoint protection and one-third of small businesses don’t have the most basic protection of all — antivirus protection.

Small businesses must be adequately protected from threats and need a simple, reliable and cost effective way to make sure their important data is protected. Antivirus is critical to any business, but to ensure that they are guarded against the current risks, small businesses need more than simple antivirus. They need multiple layers of protection and they need it done cost-effectively and without additional staff resources.

New Battle, New Defense
In today’s data-driven and highly interconnected environment, security threats are designed to target specific information while also evading detection by a single security mechanism such as antivirus. At the same time, the volume of information small businesses must protect and maintain continues to expand. As a result, organizations may find themselves at a crossroad—aware of the need to strengthen their IT security infrastructure but unsure how to do so with limited resources.

One prescription is an all-in-one security solution that offers a complete toolbox of tightly integrated solutions that protect against multiple threats at multiple points and are easily managed and controlled from a single intuitive console. A growing number of these solutions also make it simple to regularly back up data servers, workstations and even laptops.

With such an integrated, multi-tiered solution in place, even the smallest companies can be sure their business assets are protected—not just from computer-related threats but also from the hardware or software failures and human errors that can also lead to data loss.

Multitiered Protection
Destructive malware now utilizes popular communication tools to spread worms sent through email and instant messages. Current malware quietly exploits vulnerabilities or weaknesses in applications and systems to make their entry silent and easy, increasing the likelihood that an attack will go undetected just long enough for the attacker to find and steal valuable sensitive information. Even spam is dangerous. Once known simply as unwanted email that clogged inboxes, spam is now used to deliver Trojan horses, viruses, worms, spyware, and targeted phishing attacks.

With such a range of threats to worry about, small businesses will need to implement more than antivirus to be adequately protected. They need a firewall to block malicious incoming and outgoing Internet activity as well as antispyware and antispam to thwart these noiseless threats.

The most advanced security suites now include all these protective technologies, accessible as a single integrated solution and often at a more affordable price than individual point products. These multitiered solutions may also utilize more proactive technologies that actually analyze the behavior of applications to identify and then block suspicious activity.

Data Backup and Recovery
Half of small businesses have lost important data from their computers and only a quarter of small businesses are sure they can recover data once it is lost, according to it’s a September 2008 survey of U.S. small and medium businesses conducted by Rubicon Consulting.

These statistics point out a serious concern as more and more important information resides on computers and laptops. In turn, small businesses must take a new approach to backup and ensure that their backup practices are keeping pace with their information protection needs.

Integrated security and backup toolsets offer an effective, affordable, and comprehensive solution as small businesses continue to look for innovative ways to leverage technology to protect and enhance their businesses. Solution providers can open new doors and establish trust with small businesses by offering these multifaceted, all-in-one suites, to help small businesses safeguard their critical information assets against increasingly sophisticated threats while ensuring that data remains available and protected now and into the future.

Randy Cochran is VP of Americas Channel Sales for Symantec.