It is estimated that nearly 90 per cent of all data breaches involve insider negligence, yet the results of survey announced by e-mail and security software provider GFI Software revealed that nearly half of small and medium-sized businesses in the US underestimate the impact uncontrolled access to the internet can have on their organisation in terms of network security, productivity levels and HR.

The survey showed that although the majority of SMBs (61 per cent) have security policies in place regarding internet use, far fewer have the means to monitor and/or filter the HTTP traffic: Less than half (47 per cent) say they have the means to do so. However, 15 per cent of SMBs do indicate they are considering adding monitoring and/or filtering capabilities, and an additional five per cent said implementation is planned.

“The results pose an interesting question that SMBs should be asking themselves: ‘If half are monitoring Internet activity in the business, why aren’t I?’,” said Walter Scott, CEO of GFI Software.

“Nearly half of those surveyed are lagging their peers and this indicates that they are not aware of the risks that come with uncontrolled internet access. It is not a case of big brother but rather one of keeping alert and being prepared. With monitoring in place, management has a front-line view of Internet activity in the company,” Mr Scott said.

Of those using Web filtering software, the majority (67 per cent) said they use it for security against virus and malware downloads, 55 per cent to prevent illegal and/or unacceptable Web browsing and only 36 per cent to monitor employee browsing activity.

The survey also gives an indication of how threats are perceived and their source. According to the survey, the IT security threats that most concern SMBs are accidental data corruption, malware attacks and external.

Fifty-one per cent said that they are concerned about web-borne malware. However, only nine per cent said they are concerned about internal threats. The threat posed by employees leaving the company with confidential data was of concern to only 26 per cent, the lowest rated.

GFI is a leading software developer that provides a single source for network administrators to address their network security, content security and messaging needs. It has offices in the US, Malta, UK, Hong Kong and Australia which support more than 200,000 installations worldwide.