An article entitled "IT security resellers faced new kinds of threats in 2008" makes some relevant points for those involved in selling security solutions. Security vendors are issuing their end-of-the-year reports this month, telling everybody about the latest and greatest threats. While some in the blogosphere dismiss these reports as scaremongering, they are quite real. We live in a frightening cyberworld. The bad guys are no longer kids in their parents' basements, writing viruses for fun and recognition. They are highly organized criminals, and they're in it for the money.

According to the article, McAfee's report says the lousy economy has resulted in a boost in cybercrime and spear phishing attacks. Fake job sites are on the increase, and data loss prevention has become a major concern among customers. IT security resellers need to focus not just on selling appropriate technology--and lots of it--but also in educating their clietns in how to prevent breaches. Many successful penetrations are based on social engineering, which in many cases can't be stopped by traditional technology alone, and so the total security solution must incorporate technology with good training practices.

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