|
Internet communications have evolved from point-to-point
channels such as email to real-time, presence-oriented communications
like IM, P2P file sharing, Skype, and web conferencing. FaceTime
terms these real-time communications applications 'greynets'
- defined as network-enabled applications that are often downloaded
and installed by the end user without the permission or knowledge
of the IT department and use highly evasive techniques to circumvent
the existing security infrastructure.
Greynet Research Study 2006
In July 2006, FaceTime commissioned NewDiligence, an independent
market research company, to conduct it's 2nd annual survey on
the growth and impact of greynets. As in the prior year, the
research was conducted among a large sample of corporate IT
managers and end users across all size organizations in North
America, UK and Europe. The research study includes compiled
data from 778 IT managers and 385 end users. Key findings can
be found below.
Key Findings:
Impact on Business:
- Eight in ten IT managers are at locations that have
experienced a greynet-related attack within the last six
months (81%).
- Incidents attributed to greynet usage have significant
and measurably negative impacts on business. IT managers
report legal risks patterns of greynet usage as well as
damages to network equipment personal computers. Greynet
usage has financial implications because remediation, repair
and prevention have direct labor costs.
- The number of greynet applications installed at a typical
work location has increased dramatically in the past year.
Work locations where eight or more greynet applications
are in use have doubled in the past 12 months, growing from
20% of locations one year ago to 41% today.
Employee Use:
- Employees use IM for a variety of reasons, including
convenience, speed and for work productivity. But as the
boundary between work and personal space erodes, the use
of corporate PCs for personal communications is increasingly
common: 70% of end users have sent personal IMs from work
- One-fourth of end users use IM because it affords "private,
unmonitored communications" (26%). Given the high reported
incidence of downloading adult materials, the use of salacious
language and similar risky behaviors, the desire of end
users to avoid oversight signals a certain degree of business
risk
IT Perspective:
- On average IT managers at large organizations report
a monthly average of 14 greynet-related incidents that require
repair of company PCs. This incident rate is closely correlated
with company size: it is more than five times higher at
the largest companies compared to the smallest (as measured
by employee size)
- Only 11 percent of IT managers believe their network
systems would have intercepted the kinds of sexually explicit
IMs allegedly sent by former Congressman Foley. In fact,
almost half (49%) rate their systems as "ineffective" with
one-third giving the lowest rating—"not at all effective"
(31%)
End User Attitudes Toward Greynets
Greynet Attacks are Widespread
Monthly Frequency/Cost of Greynet-related
Attacks
Source: FaceTime Greynets Research Study, November 2006
Read the results of the 2005 Greynet Research Study
|
FaceTime
- Greynets Research Study 2006