Security firms are being bought out by the large players in the technology field at an impressive rate. In the past two weeks, the number one and two computer application security companies were bought out by IBM and HP respectively. The large players are not looking to put out security products of their own — for the most part, they want to incorporate security products as features in other packages and add value to existing product lines. Security firms, which are generally small startups, are becoming increasingly valuable as threats from hackers, viruses, and other threats continue to have a bigger impact on the Internet.

Technology Security Companies in Demand (Fox News)

Security can take a number of forms, from preventing data loss to keeping unauthorized people from seeing data for which they do not have permission, whether those people are internal employees or are outside the company’s firewalls. Consumer-level security can be things like credit card improvements to fight fraud, software to help track down lost or stolen electronics, or services that protect individuals from identity theft. However, no matter what kind of security you are talking about specifically, IT managers continue to list security at the top of their priority list.

New Card Technology Prevents Use of Stolen Credit Card Data (Payments News)

New services help consumers keep track of their gadgets (CNN)

ID Watchdog Offers Free Identity Monitoring to Military Personnel (Business Wire)

Security is on my mind a lot lately, as I have been put in charge of the security in our ERP package. The product we work with was not built with security in mind, and as such, the security is not defined well — it is set up in multiple places throughout the database and is not documented well. As a result, we are frequently left scrambling to make changes that should be routine but end up requiring meetings, teleconferences, and fixes by our ASP. Thankfully, we will be moving to another ERP system at some point in the next couple of years, at which time I will do the implementation with security first and foremost on my mind.

How have you seen security evolve at your workplace? At your home? Do you consider your environment “secure,” or do you still have a long way to go as we do? What improvements should be made by product vendors to increase your confidence in their software, hardware, or services? Join the discussion.