Dimension Data's 2013 Network Barometer Report was published on 1 July 2013. First published in 2009, the Network Barometer Report reports on the status of networks globally, and aggregates data from organisations and the Technology Lifecycle Management (TLM) Assessments conducted by Dimension Data around the world during the last year.
The report reviews networks' readiness to support business by reviewing the security vulnerabilities, end-of-life status and configuration variance from best practice of network devices. Today, Dimension Data boasts over 1200 TLM Assessments completed for organisations of all sizes from all industry sectors, and across all geographies over the past five years.
The Middle East and Africa regional sample consists of 30 TLM Assessments conducted on 11,393 network devices. "The results show a slight increase in the number of devices beyond end-of-sale. This is still more than the global average, which points to aging network infrastructure in the region," says Michael Abendanon, Dimension Data South Africa general manager for Network Integration.
"The average percentage of devices with PSIRTs (Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team) for the Middle East and Africa region was 78%, which is higher that the global average, but represents an improved security posture for the region when compared to 2012," he adds.
"There are certain vulnerabilities that have been around for many years which have not yet been fixed - despite vendors like Cisco Systems' proactive approach to patch alerts and on-going software and system upgrades. It can be a daunting and challenging task to eliminate all vulnerabilities from large and complicated environments. However, the disruption and effort required must be weighed against the potential impact and actions that must be taken. Although networks currently appear to have fewer vulnerabilities, the high percentage of devices carrying vulnerabilities will remain until the software is patched or upgraded to a newer, more secure version of code," says Abendanon.
Abendanon advises organisations to focus their efforts on vulnerabilities that represent the largest threats. "The closer a device is situated to the internet, the higher the risk. Therefore, organisations must be vigilant and should implement a constant regime to evaluate, prioritise and patch network vulnerabilities.
"While IT networks currently seem to have fewer vulnerabilities - and many of these are difficult to eliminate completely - new vulnerabilities are identified each year, so it's unwise to be complacent," he says.
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