Symantec came out with their Internet Security Threat Report a couple of days ago:

http://www.symantec.com/business/theme.jsp?themeid=threatreport

The report of course suggests that Internet Security is getting worse and the bad guys are getting better, same story as always. One of the highlights though is they do acknowledge the targeted attack dangers, which is a big step forward for an anti-virus vendor:

Attackers have adopted stealth tactics that prey on end users on individual computers via the World Wide Web, rather than attempting high-volume broadcast attacks to penetrate networks. This may be because enterprise network attacks are now more likely to be discovered and shut down, whereas specifically targeted malicious activity on end-user computers and/or web-sites is less likely to be detected.

A good read for those who are interested in the new threat landscape.

There is a great article at CSO Magazine that goes over information all IT people should learn about, even if security isn’t their primary responsibility.

This article reinforces what I have been saying for awhile — one of the greatest threats to businesses around the globe is the current state of computer security and the lack of well crafted security programs to protect data and financials. In my opinion, companies and governments need to stop modeling their security programs on a prevention model and shift toward a detection / response model.