Spate of new legislation is not welcomed by all

Waves of new legislation are going to make security professionals' lives hell, say legal experts. In particular, the issue of compliance will affect the industry more and more.

"Policy is increasingly having to reflect compliancy issues," said Bruce Potter, head of technology practice at Morgan Cole , speaking at the SC Conference in London last month.

On the back of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), the Freedom of Information Act and the UK's Companies Bill, Potter pointed to future areas of legislation.

"Use of the internet by children is going to become a major challenge for us all. Not only chat rooms, but also areas such as gambling," he said. Potter also suggested that there is a possibility of an "IT MOT," in which auditors will ensure the security of systems.

The issue of compliance is already having a major effect on the industry, with some firms paying millions to safeguard themselves.

"SOX is our biggest problem," said Claus Norup, head of IT risk and security management, Winterthur. "We've spent about 50m Swiss francs (about £22m) on compliance."

His fear was that the expense was solely around documentation and making minor modifications to existing business processes.

It's not all bad news, though. As Norup admitted: "It's a good way to gouge money out of the board."