SIDEBAR: How VULNERABLE Are You?

Distributed, poorly defended organizations face the most risk

If your intellectual property is digital, you're at risk for online IP theft. But there are varying degrees of exposure. "It has to do with how valuable a target you present and how well-defended you are," explains O Sami Saydjari, president of security consultancy Cyber Defence Agency.

The types of organizations that currently face the highest risk include:

• Large, globally distributed organizations
• Small to midsize businesses in niche markets
• Companies with foreign partners or that sell directly in foreign markets
• Organizations with decentralized IT
• Military or government organizations that rely heavily on contractors and suppliers
• Industries like telecommunications that supply critical national infrastructure
• Organizations lacking executive sponsorship of security issues, technical enforcement of security policies, adequate security monitoring or process/preparedness for dealing with security breaches

External partners, locally and globally, are a major source of risk. "You can spend millions on your own defences," says John Bumgarner, research director for security technology at the US Cyber Consequences Unit. But attackers may find a way in through weak spots in the systems of customers or suppliers. As intruders' sophistication increases, however, all organizations may face similar vulnerabilities. "With new hacking methods, if the information is not encrypted and it is very valuable, it's at high risk," says Alan Paller, research director for the SANS Institute.

— S OVERBY