New technologies such as the Internet and email allow your company to communicate rapidly and freely, but they are also an open door to viruses and other intruders.
In the last few years for example, hackers have evolved to exploit multiple channels to ensure the success of the attacks they launch: access to user's bank details, theft of passwords, interference with key company data.
Another serious menace is spam. This kind of junk mail can render your inbox unusable, wasting bandwidth and making you waste valuable time.
This is made worse by the frightening speed with which new threats spread, infecting thousands of computers in just a few hours, before traditional antivirus systems can be updated to detect them. The Yankee Group has confirmed that four out of five companies were hit by a virus or worm in 2003.
It is important therefore, to see the need for investing in the security of your IT systems, as they are otherwise vulnerable to attack from these new types of threats. This is due to the fact that traditional protection mechanisms are not designed to combat unknown viruses and threats.
This doesn't mean however, that traditional security systems are useless - they are still vital for protecting against known threats. But they do need to be complemented with new preventive technologies designed specifically to deal with the unknown.