LACK OF SECURITY AND ITS EFFECTS ON INDUSTRY, ECONOMY AND GOVERNMENT

Definition: Lack of security, in this case, computer security, refers to the inability of a system to protect against unauthorized access, destruction or alteration of information.

Effects: Lack of computer security may affect industries, economies and governments.

Industry: -A hacker (cracker) can have access to a companys confidential and important files, which will result in those files being modified, destroyed or stolen. This in turn will affect the companys operations and cause damage to many sectors of the industry. -Unethical employees can exploit a security weakness to access and modify employee records.

Economy: -Economy can be defined as the wealth and resources of a country or region, especially in the terms of production and consumption of goods and services. -An example of a cyber attack: a firm can send a hacker to breach a rival firms system to steal or destroy confidential and corporate information. -Such a cyber attack would significantly decrease the targeted firms economic value, tipping the scales in the other firms favor, giving them a corporate advantage. -Economic impact also includes the costs to eliminate the virus, clean and restore systems, lost revenue, and the impact on worker productivity. -If the targeted firm cannot account for these losses, it might go bankrupt.

Government: -Not investing in the skills or technology to secure a nations infrastructure from cyber attack leaves the nations electrical grid, financial services, and other key elements vulnerable. -Cyber terrorists can infiltrate banks, multinational corporations, and even government websites to steal sensitive data.

Conclusion: Cyber crime is growing with a very fast rate. They have the power to topple businesses. Failure to defend against these attacks will result in many negative effects a nations economy.

Reference Links: http://www.slideshare.net/lilian91/the-effect-of-lack-of-security-on-industry http://www.albion.com/security/intro-4.html http://bizshifts-trends.com/2011/05/26/cyber-attack-internet-crime-hackers-impact-onbusiness-performance-menace-threat-warfare/ http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/cc/so/neso/sqso/roi1_wp.pdf

Group Members: Goh Liang Matthew Chiam Tam You Jun