Users want security rethink

IT user group the Jericho Forum will release a report at the end of February calling for new security standards to be developed to meet the needs of user organisations, rather than vendors. It also proposes the development of a secure network architecture to help companies collaborate and do business online.

Jericho said that its members, which include UK enterprises such as Royal Mail and BP, believe more must be done to lower the cost of such technology. In its report, the forum warns that many business systems are currently unable to cope with growing demands. "Security controls can be complex and inflexible when they need to protect multiple dissimilar access methods and protocols," it said.

At the heart of Jericho's plans for shoring up security is the idea of "de-perimeterisation" - a security architecture that will support collaboration and commerce over open networks.

The organisation said that a number of factors made better security a critical requirement. It pointed to developments such as the emergence of so-called "virtual" organisations, bodies made up of a number of business entities that collaborate on projects; the increased use of offshore outsourcing partners; and the use of low-cost networks for collaboration and commerce.

The group aims to create standards itself and to influence standards already in development. It has already set up working groups for this purpose.