FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 30, 2009

VANCOUVER, CANADA – March 30, 2009 – Embattled companies needing better information to counter security threats in an already-tough marketplace have some good news: Cyber Security Informer is here to give them the information they need to keep their businesses running smoothly.

Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd. has re-launched its flagship security news source as Cyber Security Informer (CSI), to help companies cope with a quickly-changing security landscape while dealing with tight budgets in a tough economy. CSI includes articles on what various kinds of organizations, from credit unions and educational institutions to e-commerce sites and social media companies are doing to protect their customers through locking down their websites, web applications and networks.

“There’s a real need for this kind of information since many companies are struggling to keep up with increasing security requirements while already-strained IT departments are stretched even further,” says PCIS President Vaclav Vincalek. “It’s critical for us all to understand good practices across industries when it comes to protecting customer information and protecting our computer systems from hackers, phishers and even disgruntled ex-employees. We learn from each other.” CSI builds on an earlier iteration of the tech trends and security newsletter, Web Threats Weekly, and aims to provide even more critical advice to empower companies in need.

A more secure Internet is everyone's goal, Vaclav notes. As an indication of the state of the Web, tests by PCIS conducted last week showed about 80,000 of the top one million websites in the world contain malicious software, so we've got some improvements to make.

“Our preliminary findings from scanning a significant portion of the top one million websites shows that many of the most-heavily trafficked websites are already infected with malware,” says PCIS Developer Ernesto Cerezo.

“It takes about two or three days to go through a 50,000-domain name list, and we’re about 250,000 domains in, so we’ve got a way to go yet,” says PCIS Developer Ernesto Cerezo, who is running the test. “But the results we were getting were so surprising that we felt that we needed to get this information out to the public.”

CSI will hopefully help companies avoid a security breach in a tough economic climate. “This should help IT people and owners communicate so they understand what they need to do to keep their businesses running well," Cerezo adds. "A lot of companies depend on their websites for their revenue stream. So it's critical information.”

What can companies do to counter the threat of cyber crime? Cyber Security Informer suggests tips like using a firewall, installing anti-virus and anti-spyware software, patching your operating systems, educating your people about security, conducting regular code reviews on all of your web applications, and using stronger passwords.

“Sure, these are the basic things that all organizations should be doing,” Vincalek says. “It’s clear, given the number of successful security breaches, that some of these essential things are not being taken care of as well as they need to be. We hope that by providing this information, we’ll empower more companies to do what they have to do to protect their customers.

Readers can subscribe to the weekly Cyber Security Informer newsletter, produced by the Boonbox security-focused packaged services division of PCIS by emailing informer@pcis.com with the subject, "SUBSCRIBE". They can also view the newsletter online at www.boonbox.net/cyber-security-informer.htm and see back issues at http://boonbox.net/cyber-security-informer-archive-devfense.htm

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