Network Security of LAN used in Small Office and Home Office - Essay Example

Another fact worthy to note is that less than two thirds (62 percent) of these small businesses use automatic patching. Those that do not use automatic patching has the risk of not getting a critical update and most likely leave their systems open for the next round of attacks that will undeniably come. Recommendations for enhancing these best practices are put forth. With each passing day, interconnectivity in today’s marketplace develops and numerous businesses are putting their trust on the Internet and other network technologies for the smooth functioning of their businesses.

Even small businesses now have the capability to compete with effectiveness compared with larger companies as the internet offers the ability for them to expand the geographical scope of their market. In addition, the Internet is able to make 71 percent of small businesses to begin conducting different business tasks, such as servicing the customer and doing procurement, as a recent survey shows (American Express, 2002). However, this wonderful news does not come without a catch. Internet connection particularly a 24/7 broadband connection is also a security threat to small businesses which probably lack the resources and technical skill to deal with it.

The deficiency of small business to hire a diverse IT staff as commonly found in bigger companies is a hindrance. Managers of these small businesses are unsurprisingly unable to fully comprehend yet the information and business implications of the security threats and risks. The significant factor in the creation of a standard security program for a company is still its size, where smaller business most unlikely to have very complicated security for themselves (Kotulic & Clark, 2004). In a worldwide survey done by Ernst and Young, 34 percent of respondents found they are less than sufficient in telling whether or not their systems are being attacked. 32