The challenges to info-tech security will surely be daunting, and companies' efforts to stay safe will have to keep increasing.
With holiday cookies and sweets still being shared around offices everywhere, security is the least of concerns these days as most businesses are thinking merry, not wary. So what better time to examine the year ahead for what to expect in terms of computer security? First, 2003 will surely pose some pretty daunting challenges to chief security officers and the organizations they protect. At the same time, improvements in software and technology will elevate computer security to another level. Here's a quick rundown of what to expect:

Spam becomes an even bigger headache
According to e-mail security-service provider Message Labs, spam's growth rate will continue to be faster than that of legitimate e-mail--and in terms of sheer volume, spam will eclipse the legit stuff. That will make the spam torrent more burdensome and harder to control. Companies that haven't invested in antispam software will need to do so, pronto, or have their employees waste more and more time simply hitting the delete key.

Part of the bargain will be businesses accepting the fact that some messages will get tossed out with the trash, as antispam programs are hardly perfect. Still, it's better than being up to your eyeballs in smutty missives and come-ons for investment scams from randomly generated e-mail addresses.

Instant messaging succumbs to spam, too
Once a relative haven, instant messaging has recently become a target for spammers seeking new outlets. According to e-mail consultancy Ferris Research, IM spammers works off lists of addresses freely traded on the Internet. They usually send a message to someone on live IM asking them to visit a Web site that sells smut, bogus software, or often legitimate products being marketed in unfortunate ways.

Since no IM spam-screening software is yet available, an IM user on the wrong list could spend a good chunk of time refusing invitations from IM spammers. That coverage hole will force many corporations to consider moving their IM users onto private messaging systems not accesssible to the public Internet.

Hardware, hardware, hardware
Security isn't shrink-wrapped anymore. Eighty percent of the licenses for expensive, high-grade firewall programs come on specially configured pieces of hardware designed to run this software. That's way up from a few years ago. And its only the start.

From VPN servers to IDSs to newer pieces of software designed to spot behavioral aberrations that point to a security breach, more and more products are moving from a piece of self-contained software that an IT consultant or your own systems administrator installs to a specialized piece of equipment built with security in mind. The upside? These systems are generally easier and cheaper to install and launch in a network. The downside? Less flexibility for companies with special software needs.