Ten growth areas for IT security in 2010

By Ian Kilpatrick, chairman, Wick Hill Group Plc | Oct 19, 2009

The recession is likely to be a major factor in IT security purchasing decisions in the next year, with companies looking for solutions which will reduce ongoing costs and provide rapid ROI such as the following: 

1. XTMs

Users will migrate from UTM to XTM for increased functionality and flexibility. Extensible threat management systems (XTMs) will be increasingly popular as they meet both tactical and strategic security needs.

Reasons for growth include cost pressures (XTMs cost only 25% of equivalent point solutions); the ever increasing variety of threats including blended threats; and green issues (having multiple security solutions in one device has a number of green benefits).

With increased compliance requirements, having one device makes reporting easier. And with cost pressures, having to train on only one interface can be beneficial.

2. Two-factor authentication

Single passwords are costly and insecure. They involve heavy use of the helpdesk which an expensive resource. An increased awareness of ID theft and a desire to cut costs will continue to drive increasing demand for two factor authentication (2FA), involving a PIN and a hardware or software token. 2FA will cut down reliance on the help desk and improve security. Solutions here include one time password generators and SMS tokens.

3. Encryption

The public domain is not safe from data leakage, and companies are cutting costs and practicing more remote working. The use of encryption will grow as it provides a low-cost way of protecting data wherever it is located, both static and mobile (on laptops and other mobile devices including PDAs and memory sticks). Continued publicity of more high profile failures will drive awareness.

There are a significant number of data leakage products available, including specific encryption solutions, full end point security solutions, mobile media protection and hardware protection for PCs and laptops.

4. Hosted security

Many companies are unable or unwilling to commit capital sums to security solutions. Hosted security services enable them to maintain security for a monthly payment. Hosted services include anti-virus, online back-up, web security, UTMs, anti-spam and two factor authentication. Companies can use hosted security for all or some of their security needs.