Down the end of what feels like the longest corridor in the world lies the controlled zone, windowless and shielded by concrete slab construction.
Entrance to the mantrap, an airlock-type sort of space that allows for only one door to be open at a time, requires the swipe of a pass card. Swipe once more to get into the clearly marked restricted area, where no fewer than 14 security analysts and agents sit hunched over keyboards, tuned in to more than half a million devices that prevent and help respond to computer security threats.
It's the heart of IBM Canada Ltd.'s Security Operations Centre in Markham, Ont., which provides small, medium and large businesses with protection against such computer attacks as viruses, denial of service and identity theft.
Clocks on the wall mark time in various cities around the world, but these days, time zones are irrelevant, as attacks can come from anywhere at any time. The centre runs 24 hours a day, every day.
Four flat-screen monitors keep staff informed about what's going on at various levels. One screen is set to CNN News, one has a live webcam hooked up to IBM's worldwide managed security business parent site in Boulder, Colo., and one shows geographical representations of hacker attacks in different parts of the world. The fourth provides real-time alerts in the event of an incident, colour-coded for severity.
The various stations replicate client environments so analysts can work with ethical hackers to identify potential risks. It can also simulate attacks within small, medium and large enterprises to help develop responses. For example, if a worm has been released, staff can simulate the environment of one specific customer, determine how a patch will work and go back to that customer with a recommendation. Information and innovation is exchanged regularly with security research centres around the world.
These days, about 10 to 15 per cent of a company's IT spending goes toward security, and that is expected to rise as threats and privacy regulations increase and businesses outsource their security to specialists. Research firm IDC Canada predicts that this year the Canadian IT security sector will grow 16.5 per cent over last year, to an estimated $891-million.
Mr. Small works with customers to determine their tolerance for risk and the impact of the risk on their brand. "What keeps them up at night?" he asks.
Two years ago, weeks could elapse between a vulnerability's discovery and its exploitation. That has shrunk to just days or hours and will get to be even less.
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