The aim of good network security used to be simple - fortify and protect. Now there's a competing business imperative - partner and share. The goals that many businesses have, from holding customer data to sharing supply-chain data, often entail greater vulnerability to security threats. As a result, security is no longer a straight cost - it is now an enabler of business.

Risk assessment is the first stage in any corporate security policy, if one is to balance the cost and risk of disasters with the cost of preparedness and prevention. Outsourcing network security to a managed security services provider gives companies a way to partner with outside experts to design and manage complex and labour-intensive security solutions. Educating employees addresses the critical weak point in most security systems - people.

In Achieving Network Security, the third in a series of thought-leadership articles written by AT&T in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit on the future of networking, we examine network security and some of its challenges.

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