InformationWeek: 56 percent of companies looking to secure new applications

A study recently published by InformationWeek found 56 percent of companies plan to implement security protocol in hopes of eliminating risks related to their use of Web 2.0 applications. As items such as widgets and more advanced source code become commonplace in web design, cyber criminals will continue to target these items to carry out targeted attacks.

The study found 61 percent of companies have standardized certain processes to alleviate concern regarding security breaches. By automating library calls, organizations can remove the threat of human error negatively impacting their network. InformationWeek believes the remaining 39 percent should adopt similar steps to avoid issues with widgets for social media applications or other items appearing on their websites.

“The ease with which the author was able to penetrate our sample Web 2.0 employee management application is possible because developers of web apps often forget to protect against legitimate users,” Lorna Garey, content director of InformationWeek analytics, said.

Sixty-four percent of the participants reported privacy breaches as the biggest threat to their company. For any organizations with compliance responsibilities, a vulnerability in a third-party application can lead to the type of breach that can draw the ire of regulators. A number of new laws adopted by states and countries require extensive security measures to protect their residents’ data.