IBM Offers Companies Monthly Security Report Service
Experts will rate potential severity of business security threats.Scarlet Pruitt, IDG News Service
IBM today introduced a security service that offers a concise, monthly global-network threat report designed to help organizations assess security needs and vulnerabilities from a business perspective.
The IBM Global Business Security Index compiles threat information from some 2700 IBM security professionals and half a million monitored devices, the company says. The data is then analyzed by IBM security intelligence and consulting experts to rate the potential severity of IT threats.
IBM, in Armonk, New York, will sell the report to businesses as a new IBM Security Intelligence Services offering. The report can be customized according to industry and starts at a base price of around $10,000 to $15,000 a year, according to a company spokesperson. Additionally, a portion of the report will be available every month for free on the company's Web site, the spokesperson says.
New Security Head
Stuart McIrvine, the company's new director of its Global Security Strategy division, says that the Global Business Security Index is the kind of new service customers can expect to see more of.
"We are getting a lot of feedback from customers that they need help with a companywide security strategy," McIrvine says. The Index is aimed at the boardroom rather than IT departments because it helps companies assess their security vulnerabilities from a business perspective, he adds.
The monthly report is about a page a half long, with a threat-level score and a few lines about how to resolve critical issues, McIrvine says. Its advantage over security warnings issued by various antivirus companies is that it is concise and avoids "information overload," McIrvine says.
IBM's introduction of a new security offering comes amid warnings from the company that network attacks have surged in recent months. Attacks against critical infrastructure providers such as telecommunications companies, utilities, and government agencies increased 55 percent from July to August of this year, IBM says. Meanwhile, overall attacks against enterprises and businesses that IBM monitors have increased 27 percent since July, the company says.
The most prevalent attacks came from worms such as Sasser and Korgo, and from attackers seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in Web server software, IBM says.