But the rise of Internet commerce is proving that nothing could be further from the truth. The number of computer attacks more than doubled last year, according to reports filed with the Computer Emergency Response Team at Carnegie Mellon University. The number of cyber crimes being investigated by the FBI also doubled in the past year. The same study found that 90 percent of proprietary data exists in digital form. Of course, these numbers don't tell the whole story.
Experts agree that most security breaches go unreported.
Few companies are willing to report security breaches, for fear of legal reprisals and financial or reputation repercussions. But it's safe to say the numbers are huge. What's driving the growing security threat, experts say, is the Internet. The Internet presents companies with tremendous opportunities to enter new markets, to integrate disparate operations and to streamline processes. As a result, organizations are pursuing e-business with abandon.