Hastily implemented e-commerce applications can send private data to publicly readable directories. The L.A. Times downloaded more than 100 pages of credit card numbers, travel reservations, e-mail, and other information from the Web. The Times went on to report that, had the data been encrypted, its accidental presence on a public site would not have been problematic. The truth is, many hacks are much more insidious than those of mischievous kids are. Well-funded and equipped by foreign governments or competing businesses, these professional hackers are after information that will increase their sponsor's competitive advantage over you.
Information brokers hire crackers to gather corporate intelligence.
Open sources include confidential information left unwittingly in publicly accessible places. According to ASIS, cases of economic espionage directed at American companies grew 260 percent between 1985 and 1996. More relevant for this update is the fact that participants in the ASIS survey also attributed losses to foreign competitors, foreign intelligence services, and foreign business partners. And many times, adequate security is pushed to the back of managers' minds. Use a triage approach.