System downtime occurs due to both malicious tampering and accidental modifications by well meaning but unknowledgeable users. Whether the concerns are controlling cost of ownership due to maintenance or protection of sensitive, proprietary data, reliance on inadequately controlled systems can have serious consequences. The Risks Many organizations monitor the whereabouts of individuals in their buildings, and with good reason. In so doing they are able to keep people out of areas they aren't authorized to be in, and if there is a problem they are able to determine who was in the area at the time. Many of these same organizations will allow anyone who sits down at a computer to wander anywhere they want to on the network or on the local hard drive, unchecked and unmonitored.
Users are able to run or even install programs, visit websites, and copy, modify or delete data.
Unknowledgeable users can wreak havoc on a system while attempting to install their own software or fix an existing problem. These are the sorts of questions that should be asked when determining security needs. All data is sensitive to some degree, exactly how sensitive is unique to each environment. In many organizations the loss or exposure of a corporate officer's contact manager could be catastrophic. Lack of adequate security can compromise the ability of organizations to perform their mission.