Security 2000 - the year in review

The year 2000 highlighted the need for business to better co-ordinate internet security - as global losses due to network downtime looked likely to top the trillion dollar mark according to research.

It was the year viruses such as the Love Bug alone caused billions of pounds of damage, customers credit card details were left exposed on the web and companies everywhere were embarrassed at home and overseas by hackers, crackers and more hardened cyber criminals.

Even Microsoft was caught with its pants down, although the Redmond giant claimed the crown jewels of its software line up had not been exposed by the breach of the firm's network security.

Sometimes, companies were their own worst enemy, failing to do the basics such as read the instruction manual for their kit properly, or even follow correct procedure to patch their own kit.

No wonder consumers continued to cite security worries as a reason for not shopping online, leaving firms wondering how best to restore this lack of e-confidence.

It was also a year where hackers got political, supporting the fuel protests in the UK and claiming to support MP3 file-swap system Napster in its fight against record industry giants in the US.

However, with one or two exceptions, authorities failed to crack down on those committing cyber crimes - sometimes because there were no suitable laws to prosecute them under.

For vnunet.com's full review of the year, click here.