Credibility for a start, says legal IT expert Charles Christian. He says that if a major City firm were hit it would be a disaster, not least because it may be advising on internet security and data protection. There have been plenty of high-profile blunders this year that have shaken the online business community. Barclays Bank was forced to shut down its service after customers were left staring at the financial details of complete strangers. And electricity company Powergen was heavily criticised when someone inadvertently stumbled upon the names, addresses and financial details of 7,000 customers.
Documents are pass-worded on certain matters and digital signature technology is used when required.
But Chissick says that there has not been a great demand for that technology. If a firm has a permanent connection it advertises itself, George Gardiner, the partner at City firm Tarlo Lyons who has responsibility for IT security issues, says. Other software can be added to the firewall, such as access control or monitoring programmes, as well as anti-virus programmes on the individual users' desktop. Gardiner says that the firm has spent an enormous amount of money on its firewall. The software acts as the security guard at the door, he says.