UK manufacturing businesses are switching to 'always on' broadband for their Internet connection in massive numbers - but their subsequent failure to protect themselves properly from online security threats is having a drastic impact. 

New research released today by Star Internet shows that the revenue loss to the manufacturing sector from security breaches is already running at around £289 million a year - second only to the retail sector. It is followed by the real estate industry, which loses £274 million each year, and construction, losing £120 million. The cost to UK business as a whole is almost £2 billion each year, and firms using broadband are on average five times more vulnerable to attack than those with traditional dial-up Internet access. 

The research, undertaken for Star by respected market analysts The Yankee Group, shows that the number of business broadband DSL lines grew almost fivefold in 2002 and is expected to grow by 150% this year to around 510,000 lines. This remarkable growth is driven by an understanding of the benefits that broadband can bring a small and medium sized firm in particular, with lower cost and the ability to remain constantly online providing a compelling proposition for companies relying more and more on the Internet. 

The Yankee Report stresses that for SMEs, always on, means always vulnerable: whereas a company using dial-up spends around two hours a day connected to the Internet, with a DSL connection this is increased to at least eight hours, if not the typical 24/7.  Firms that fail to take sufficient security measures are leaving the equivalent of the back door wide open, day and night, to hack attacks, email viruses and other security breaches. 

Simon Jackson, Marketing Manager at Star Internet, says: "At the very least, online security breaches cost management and specialist IT time in terms of dealing with the problem, and include the direct costs of loss of availability and idle equipment and people.  But the threat is potentially much more significant than that, with worst case scenarios including the breach of confidential information and the impact it can have on your image and reputation."

Graham Finnie, Senior Consultant at Yankee Group and one of the authors of the report, added: "This research shows that security breaches are already resulting in significant losses to UK manufacturing businesses, and the rapid transition to DSL greatly increases their vulnerability. A successful attack can be just as devastating as a fire or a burglary, but many small businesses do not fully understand the risk they are running."

Given the potential damage therefore caused by security breaches, Star Internet recommends three core areas of security be addressed from day one:
Firewalls.  Providing perimeter protection to a company, firewalls validate the flow of information to and from a business, and also block potential intrusions.
Virus Detection.  Email borne viruses are a major problem for UK business, with email security company MessageLabs stopping one virus every 212 emails in 2002.  Firms need to ensure that they are constantly protected from all known and all unknown viruses through their anti-virus service
Intrusion detection.  These devices monitor and gather data on potential threats, identifying not only the source but also the point of an external attack. www.star.net.uk