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Security comprises a number of different fields, including the often neglected concept of web security.  Web security is often not seen as a first line of defence and simply having an antivirus and a firewall installed are enough to provide adequate security protection; however, that’s not the case.

Here are five reasons why you need to optimize your security by focusing on web security and not basic measures such as antivirus or a firewall.

It’s a common problem we’ve all seen before: An employee at work logs into their personal Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn page to see an interesting video link shared by a “friend.”  Once they click the link, a virus spreads throughout their account and onto their computer.  As a reoccurring problem in the workplace, organizations are left struggling to find a way to manage social media sites.

With many Internet applications such as online social media outlets and web services, the line between corporate and personal usage has quickly distorted, causing an increase in data loss and malware outbreaks. Services such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn now pose a great threat in the workplace, despite their functionality and organizational benefits.

Running a vulnerability assessment is more important than ever as security threats and weaknesses in applications and operating systems are a constant target for hackers and cyber criminals. The speed at which computer systems are attacked is also accelerating. For instance, when the Conficker worm was discovered in September 2008 and then released in November 2008, according to estimates the worm was able to quickly infect approximately nine to 15 million systems – even months later, machines were still infected with the worm. All it took was one single vulnerability to be exploited.