Business owners will go to incredible lengths to keep their workplace secure while completely neglecting their IT security and multi-function devices. Computer security breaches cost a company an average of $800,000 in 2009 (Tattrie, 2009). These figures represent a 97% increase from 2008. The $800,000 includes labor lost when a breach shuts down systems, the cost of repairing damage caused by the breach, and the cost of replacing security defective. This is a fairly large amount that is also highly avoidable. Due to the increasing use of the Internet, the number of IT security breaches that businesses have experienced over the past year has increased at a rapid rate. Breaches can come from external attacks as well as within a company's walls. External attacks are serious, but the threat created by a company's employees can be much worse (Robb, 2010). Last year, 81% of security breaches came from within the company. Employees can carry out deliberate attacks, but it is more likely that their use could maliciously and unknowingly compromise your system. Employees may abuse their Internet access privileges by downloading pornography, downloading music, and pirating software. Obviously, this is an inappropriate use of company time and resources, but more importantly, it can expose your company to fines from the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and it can also make your computer network more vulnerable to access from outside troublemakers and industry spies. BSA has collected more than $70 million in penalties from companies whose employees violated hacking laws. Some of the most common security issues affecting small business computers include viruses and hackers. Viruses can rewrite code to make your software unusable, as well as scramble and...... middle of paper ......at the administrator level. Updating your current system will save you money in the end.Works CitedBSA. (nd). Enterprise Software Alliance. Retrieved from Business Software Alliance: www.bsa.orgDowling, PJ (1998). Web advertising and marketing. Course Technology, Inc. Emory, V. (1997). How to grow your business on the Internet. Coriolis group. Robb, D. (March 28, 2010). Homeland security violations are more damaging. Retrieved from Datamation: http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/secu/article.php/1405031Security Attacks. (nd). Retrieved from the Computer Technology Documentation Project: http://www.comptechdoc.org/independent/security/recommendations/secattacks.html Tattrie, J. (October 27, 2009). Security breaches cost businesses thousands of dollars. Retrieved from Metronews.ca: http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/work/article/351179--security-breaches-cost-companies-thousands