With serious apologies to President Abraham Lincoln, I wanted to borrow his phrase to succinctly describe a dialog that I had the other day with one of our clients...
My client had recently become preoccupied about the activities of a staff member. He had expressed concern regarding that person's ability to access sensitive files as well as that person's ability to modify those files without detection. This client has been with us many years, but never truly tapped us as a resource for his business.
As it turned out, he asked us many direct questions about his business, his infrastructure, and his benefits. By the time he had finished his queries, he was satisfied that the business was not only secure, but he was impressed by the nature of how we provided such a benefit and that it was already available to him. His excitement level was very high and he could not stop expressing how this knowledge had given him a greater command over the information used by his firm. He continued to state how he now felt empowered and sensed an incredible feeling about running his business in a more confident and controlled manner.
Why Do I Cite This Here?
Too many businesses are run in a haphazard and uncontrolled manner. Critical business data is exposed and access to it is totally open. Would you intentionally leave your wallet filled with cash on the floor of a shopping mall's food court? If you did, would you expect it to be returned to you intact? What could you see as the potential risks of leaving the wallet unattended? The cash might magically disappear, your credit card numbers might inadvertently be copied for "posterity's sake" by a passerby, or perhaps, your driver's license or other personal IDs might "wander". Security-wise, consider the same concerns for your company's critical data.
If you are a doctor's office, how do you comply with HIPAA? If you accept credit cards from clients, how do you secure their Personal Credit Information (PCI)? If you are a financial firm, how do you keep your clients' investments private? Last, but not least, if you have any data, how do you keep it under control as priviledged information? If you are unsure how to accomplish these tasks and mitigate these concerns, I strongly suggest that you confer with your IT Consultant. If you don't have one and are located in the area of Northern New Jersey, please feel free to contact us through my email at fred@tech4now.com or call us for an appointment at (201) 797-5050. This is not for the sake of promoting our business, it is with the aim of raising your awareness of data security and maintaining confidences. The critical aspect of data security is to implement the controls BEFORE they are needed. Performing a posthumous forensic investigation is not only more costly, but significantly less effective. Take the time now to consider what your concerns really are, touch base with your Trusted Business Advisor and identify the facets of your business that need attention. Attending to these items now, will payoff in their potential benefits down the road. Afterall, if you lose your integrity, what have you got left?
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