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Simply put, IT Security is the ongoing process of defending your network and data from:

• data lost due to misplaced laptops or smartphones
• malicious software (malware) such as virues, Trojans, rootkits and backdoors
• opportunistic hackers who are scanning for networks with open doors
• determined hackers who have set out to invade your systems

To quote some statistics:

• 48% of reported data loss/theft incidents are experienced by businesses.
• 33% of data loss/theft incidents results from lost or stolen laptops, computers and removable media such as backup tapes, USB sticks & CD/DVDs, most of which have been left with little or no protection or encryption.
• 16% of data loss/theft incidents results from a direct hack, usually perpetrated over the web.
• in 2003 there were approximately 60 000 known viruses. In 2007 that number had grown to circa 114,000. By the end of 2011 it is estimated to reach 1,200,000.
• 2% of reported incidents are malware related but that number is growing due to "phishing" malware attacks such as the Fake-AV Trojan for Windows and the MacDefender Trojan for Macs.
• in 2007 TJX, parent company of TK Maxx, paid out $118 million in compensation and technology upgrades after their wireless network being broken into allowing malicious software to be installed on their servers
• for only €100 you can buy your own Trojan, called the Solitude RAT, with annual support and free upgrades, note that using it on third parties would be illegal. **Use at your own risk**

sources: datalossdb.org | theregister.co.uk/2003/10/06/linux_vs_windows_viruses | computerweekly.com 06/08/08 | uk.reuters.com 12/04/11

• Protect yourself - Civil liability
  You may be held legally liable to compensate a third party should they experience financial damage or distress as a result of their personal data being stolen from you or leaked by you.
• Protect your credibility - Compliance
  You may require compliancy with the Data Protection Act, the FSA, SOX or other regulatory standards. Each of these bodies stipulates that certain measures be taken to protect the data on your network.
• Protect your reputation - Spam
  A common use for infected systems is to join them to a botnet (a collection of infected machines which takes orders from a command server) and use them to send out spam. This spam can be traced back to you, your server could be blacklisted and you could be unable to send email.
• Protect your income - Competitive advantage
  There are a number of “hackers-for-hire” advertising their services on the internet selling their skills in breaking into company’s servers to steal client databases, proprietary software, merger and acquisition information, personnel details et al.
• Protect your business - Blackmail
  A seldom-reported source of income for “hackers” is to·break into your server, change all your passwords and lock you out of it. The password is then sold back to you. Note: the “hackers” may implant a backdoor program on your server so that they can repeat the exercise at will.
• Protect your investment - Free storage
  Your server’s harddrive space is used (or sold on) to house the hacker's video clips, music collections, pirated software or worse. Your server or computer then becomes continuously slow and your internet connection speeds deteriorate due to the number of people connecting to your server in order to download the offered wares.

The target of malware attacks and direct hacks is changing.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) don’t enjoy the budgets of large corporates for their own IT security departments or elaborate network intrusion detection systems. SMEs have therefore become the “low-hanging fruit”. They may have a lower value to a hacker but, because they are easier to penetrate, the amount of effort to burgle their data is considerably less that attacking a corporate.

Motion IT Managed Security Services, led by their Certified Ethical Hacker, seeks to offer SME clients the same levels of protection enjoyed by the corporates though the innovative blending of software and hardware solutions to create a multi-layered defensive perimeter around your network and data. This perimeter is reinforced through constant monitoring of client’s security status and active alerting of emerging threats.