Common sense security

The epidemic of fear that swept America during the past two years affected IT as deeply as any industry.

Sure, IT administrators had long worried about hackers, viruses, terrorists, and industrial spies. But their concern grew more palpable after the Sept. 11 attacks and two ensuing wars, so that when we surveyed IT leaders last year, they anticipated spending nearly 20 times as much on security this year as they had lost to online attackers during the previous 12 months.

Clearly, something was out of whack. So it’s nice to report, as Tom Yager does in his level-headed cover story, “Security Lockdown,” that things are settling down.

For starters, the feared onslaught of terrorists and superhackers never materialized. Most respondents said their networks had suffered fewer than 100 attacks and 10 breaches during the past year.

Moreover, a significant proportion of IT executives and strategists identify their biggest problem — correctly, in my view — as internal. Some 77 percent rated human error as the biggest inside threat to security. And 79 percent said their companies’ greatest security challenge was getting employees to follow safety policies. Check out Tom’s entertaining debate with P.J. Connolly about Microsoft and P.J.’s review of the Teros-100 security appliance.

On a separate topic, InfoWorld itself received a good review last week. Folio, the well-respected publication that covers the magazine industry, analyzed the recent InfoWorld redesign and gave it high marks.

Reviewer Robert Newman, creative director of Time Inc.’s visually elegant Real Simple magazine, praised InfoWorld’s switch to magazine format, its powerful cover features, its new organization, and the revamped product information boxes and Leaderboard. “This is one of the most successful recent redesigns I’ve seen,” Newman wrote, “a textbook case on how to change and refine a magazine without upsetting its essential DNA.”

Credit where credit is due: The redesign was the work of the Don Morris Design firm in New York, where it received personal attention from Principal Don Morris and Art Director Josh Klenert, as well as our own creative director, Tim Downs. Kudos to all three! It’s a privilege to work with you.