Security Solutions

What do organizations have to lose?
Failure to comply with the laws governing your
industry leaves you open to business
interruptions, lawsuits, steep fines and even jail
time. This doesn’t even take into account the
damage done to the organization’s reputation,
brand and balance sheet. The people in
charge—CEO, CIO or CFO—stand to lose their
reputations and very likely their jobs.

Sarbanes-Oxley, Graham-Leach-Bliley, HIPAA
and other regulations have placed intense
pressure and scrutiny on corporations, financial
institutions and healthcare providers to secure
information. Maintaining the integrity of
confidential information is challenging and costly.
Organizations not in compliance face stiff
consequences.

Senior executives must have an understanding of
their information systems: who has access,
where the vulnerabilities are and what will be
done if a security breach occurs. An IT security
audit is a must. A security strategy should
address encryption and authentication, controls
& audit trails, ongoing intrusion prevention,
testing and documentation.

Organizations have always had to comply with
government rules and regulations. But the field of
play has changed. Organizations are conducting
huge volumes of business transactions over the
Internet, which creates the opportunity for
unprotected data to be viewed, stolen, or used for
unethical or illegal gain. The healthcare industry
is particularly vulnerable because it has been slow
to adopt technology. Financial institutions are also
vulnerable because they handle massive amounts
of personal information. Graham-Leach-Bliley is
very clear on how to assess risk, document risk
and execute appropriate corrective actions.

Information security is a top-down process that
must be “owned” by senior managers. ETA
Computing facilitates the process by developing
a customized information security plan. Many
clients duplicate their systems with 24/7 remote
monitoring at our Secure Operations Center.
This redundancy acts as a “security blanket” by
identifying potential problems and security
breaches as they occur, accelerating response
and remediation while ensuring data
confidentiality, integrity and availability.

Don’t assume your system is secure—the status
quo could get you in trouble. Technology changes.
Crooks are smarter. Vigilance is a must.
Questioning your IT investments is a must. And I
don’t say this to threaten IT professionals. It’s
just that no organization is completely safe, and
leaders of those organizations have a lot to lose.