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Leveraging the “Perfect Storm”of Convergence
Corporate security can take a lesson from techniques that hackers use to breach the very networks the corporations are trying to protectThe Latest from SIW
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By Jackie Bassett
CEO BT Industrials, Inc.
The conundrum that faces today's security professional is that convergence of physical and logical security is creating “Perfect Storm” conditions – as critical contributing factors have all reached similar stages of maturity at the same time.
The Perfect Storm has indeed arrived: Having multiple factors reach the right stage of maturity at the same time means convergence has become something of an unstoppable force. Here are the main factors:
* Competitive pressures of globalization driving customer demand for innovation;
* Emerging technologies are popping up in places where security is often an afterthought;
* Corporate data has become more mobile -- leaving a corporate perimeter that can no longer be clearly defined; and
* The volume and rate of change globalization is demanding has outpaced the business processes that surround them.
Globalization Drives Innovation
Globalization is creating a demand for new products and services as competition for customers becomes fierce. CEOs understand the “innovate or die” mentality, and they are changing entire business models around what today's customers want. Companies that only 10 years ago were arch-rivals are now helping each other to find customers. In some cases, a company can be both a top-line customer and a supply-chain competitor on the same contract.
Another change brought about by globalization is that more businesses today are built around the buying and selling of information. This has helped spawn the era of the “knowledge worker,” who is demanding an onslaught of emerging technologies. Add to it the merger and acquisition mania of the last five years and it's no wonder at all that 2006 will forever be known as “The Year of The Data Security Breach.”
As security professionals, we have invested millions on technology and countless hours developing best practices to write into corporate security policies. We have toiled endlessly for years to protect and defend corporate networks against daily attacks that never end; yet, we know it's not a matter of if a security breach will occur, but when.
