ISF sounds IT infrastructure warning

Its Threat Horizon 2012 report identifies dangers from cloud computing, mobile and home working and says there has not been sufficient investment to provide the necessary protection. As a result, underlying IT platforms have been weakened, and "they are poorly placed to support new and evolving business technology such as e-commerce, cloud computing and mobile working". The ISF , a member organisation acting as an authority on information security, points to 10 major risks to the infrastructure. They include an under-investment in infrastructure leading to poor resilience at network pinch points, with the risk of loss of communication and network channels. There is also a danger that the adoption of cloud computing, which has been signalled as an area of great potential for the public sector, will lead to short cuts in dealing with concerns over security and compliance. Another is that mobile and remote working will combine to remove organisations' network boundaries, making it more difficult to prevent unauthorised access to systems or loading software from untrusted sources. Mobile technology is also blurring the line between business and personal usage, again increasing the threat from malware and the loss of devices. Other threats include: - users failing to distinguish between real life and fantasy as a result of moving in virtual communities, affecting their online working and leading to them bypassing controls on email, internet access and social networking; - the tension between privacy and public security; - hacking and cyber attacks; - the drive for green IT increasing the use of home and mobile equipment but leaving the security function unable to cope; - inadequate integrity checking; and - the convergence of threats to obtain authentication details, gain access to systems, introduce malware and steal proprietary information.