What can happen on an unsecured computer network

Enterprise Network RisksEmail Attachments -- Workers opening an

attachment could unleash a worm or virus onto the corporate network, and a new evolution of viruses means that they can propagate themselves even without a user double-clicking on them;

VPN Tunnel Vulnerabilities -- A hacker who worms his way into the VPN has free and easy access to the network;

Enterprise Network RisksBlended Attacks -- Worms and viruses are

becoming more complicated, and now a single one may be able to execute itself or even attack more than one platform;

Diversionary Tactics -- Hackers may strike a set of servers in a target company and then when security administrators are busy putting out that fire, they slip in and attack another part of the network;

Enterprise Network RisksDownloads from Web Sites -- Workers frequently

misuse their Internet access in the workplace, downloading games, movies and music. It opens the network up to attack and sucks up valuable bandwidth;

Supply Chain and Partners Added to the Network -- An administrator may grant access to the network for a partner company and then forget to close that access point when the job is over. The same applies to employees who are leaving the company;

Enterprise Network RisksRenaming Documents -- An employee could

save business-critical information in a different file, give it a random, unrelated name and email the information to her home computer, a friend or even a corporate competitor. Monitoring software that checks emails leaving the company might fail to pick up on the outgoing message if the subject name has been changed;

Enterprise Network RisksPeer-to-Peer Applications -- In a peer-to-peer

environment there is an implied trust between servers. That means if a user has access to one server, he automatically has access to another if the servers share trust. Hackers or rogue employees can gain access to one server and move freely throughout the network;

Enterprise Network RisksMusic and Video Browsers -- These are

browsers that automatically will connect the user with related web sites -- all without the user's permission. A music browser, for instance, may note that the user likes jazz so will connect the user to other jazz sites and executable applications, putting the network at risk and potentially using up huge amounts of bandwidth.