FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 22, 2008

VANCOUVER, CANADA – September 22, 2008 – As a hacker who broke into Republican VP nominee Sara Palin's personal email account demonstrated this week, lax password security procedures can leave critical information vulnerable to theft.

The problem of poor password security certainly isn’t confined to famous politicians, though. Heavy users of the Internet and IT systems at our workplaces may be using dozens of passwords to access office applications, leading to sloppy password procedures that endanger their companies, says Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd. President Vaclav Vincalek.

“From dealing with our Boonbox-division customers on password management solutions, we’ve found that inadequate password management is creating huge vulnerabilities,” Vincalek says. “It’s simply no longer acceptable – actually, it never was -- for an employee to get away with using the word “password”, “admin” or “12345” as their password. You’re not only dealing with outsiders who may want to penetrate your systems. You also have to deal with security threats from the inside, which can do a lot of damage.”

The current downturn in the US economy is exactly the time when poor password security is going to lead to security breaches, Vincalek notes. “We’re already seeing downsizing announcements in the news. If organizations aren’t disabling passwords and preventing access to systems by hundreds or thousands of people who are getting pink slips, then you’re definitely going to see a higher number of disgruntled ex-employees sabotaging the systems of their former employers or stealing corporate data.

“Our conversations with our clients have shown us that there is a real need for password management and solutions. Organizations and individual employees need the tools to manage passwords securely. Organizations also need the ability to give or take away account access to many systems simultaneously. This would improve security and protect corporate assets when companies downsize as well as productivity for when they start growing again, Vaclav emphasizes.

“More secure password management procedures and solutions are already there for people to use, but we’ll see over the coming months whether companies have been pro-active about this.”

About PCIS – www.pcis.com
Pacific Coast Information Systems (PCIS) Ltd. is a technology and consulting firm based in Vancouver. Founded in 1995, PCIS offers packaged infrastructure and network solutions that enable organizations to address security and compliance issues within today’s complex IT environment.

About Boonbox – www.boonbox.net
Boonbox, a division of PCIS, was created in 2007. Boonbox packaged service solutions are developed for customers for whom network security is a high priority. Boonbox enables companies to address security, compliance and data integrity issues.

Media Contact
Jonathon Narvey, Communications
Pacific Coast Information Systems Ltd./ Boonbox (a division of PCIS)
700-1112 Pender Street West
Vancouver, BC
V6E 2S1 Canada
Phone: +1 (604) 844-7558
jonathonnarvey@pcis.com
www.pcis.com / www.boonbox.net

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