The University of Sussex echoed to talk of hacking and viruses as more than 200 people gathered to discuss the dangers of cyber crime.

The data security symposium, held jointly by the university and the Sussex Innovation Centre (SINC), brought experts together for an insight into issues ranging from fingerprint identification to code-breaking and security policies.

During a demonstration by Geoff Davies and Jamie Diepstra, of Brighton-based I-Sec, it took less than 20 minutes to hack into a database of names and credit card numbers by following simple onscreen instructions.

Managing director Mr Davies said this was how malicious young hackers, using other peoples' tools, were able to cause so much damage to company sites.

The best way to protect sites was to scan them regularly. Companies needed to identify and fix known vulnerabilities before hackers had a chance to exploit them.

Although hackers get the most attention in the media, the audience heard between 70 and 80 per cent of security problems were caused internally by staff.

Several speakers highlighted the problem of employees' casual approach to computer security.

Stephen Whitelaw, from London-based security specialists Iomart, showed documents on bomb-making and lock-picking people can download from the internet and programmes to create illegal registration codes for computer software.

Malcolm McIlhagga, technical director of SINC-based Sigmer Technologies, said: "Many companies are just not aware of security issues. The key is to get advice and have a good security policy."

SINC director Mike Herd said the symposium had illustrated data security problems which provided an opportunity for new businesses.

www.sinc.co.uk
www.iomart.com
www.i-sectesting.com
www.sigmer.com