Public and private sector organisations need to make protecting themselves against the threat of electronic security attacks and viruses a priority.

“With spam and viruses costing companies more than $50 billion per year, it is clear that combating these forms of attack will be a key driver in the future,” says Ashraf Patel, head of consulting at ForgeAhead.

“In addition, public authorities and security agencies face key global issues around cyber-crime, money laundering, trafficking, and online child pornography. And although spam itself poses no direct threat to government departments’ systems or data, it has become a widespread issue causing a complex range of problems to users, service providers, and network operators around the world,” he adds.

Patel says that spam e-mail was originally used to send unsolicited commercial messages.

“Today, spam messages
 are increasingly used to spread viruses, worms, and other malicious codes that negatively impact the security and stability of the global telecommunications network.

“Through initiatives like the Department of Home Affairs’ Online Citizen project, government is however showing that it is addressing the need for improved e-security” he says.

That said, ForgeAhead still believes that awareness on security issues can be further increased through regular training programs.

“Software upgrades, new firewall technologies and anti-virus toolkits will help in building this increased awareness,” Patel says. “Deploying network-edge controls for messaging and mobile content is yet another step to establishing network protection measures against spam and virus attacks.

” While matters are improving, Patel says that strong legislation still needs to be put in place to curtail spam and other threats.

“Lastly, cyber-conviction cases need to increase for security to really become part of the mainstream awareness. The only way to reduce the electronic threat level of government is to take it seriously, and government needs to show this is a priority,” he concludes.