Help IT Run a Less-Risky Business

Bad luck just seems to follow you around. First your dog was run over, then your priceless Monet was stolen from your front steps, and now, your house is flooded due to a botched up repair to the water heater.

You reported the incidents to the police who promptly came to your aid and assisted in the disposal of your dog, completion of a stolen property report, and submittal of an insurance claim. Sure, they were polite enough, but they didn't seem to accept responsibility. In fact, they seemed to imply that you needed to be more careful with your house and home.

While this scenario is extreme, it is with this attitude that many leaders absolve themselves of responsibility for ensuring smooth business operations by protecting the integrity of their systems and information. In a recent survey, over one-half of business leaders responded that "deciding how much security and privacy risk is acceptable" is "more or completely IT's responsibility."

Certainly, we wouldn't expect those running our airports, nuclear reactors, and communication networks to defer security issues to President Obama's new cybersecurity chief. Rather, leaders at all levels should use every resource at their disposal to secure their operations. Similarly, leaders in charge of order processing teams, sales forces, and distribution centers shouldn't defer their security issues to their company's Chief Security Officer, Chief Information Officer, or risk management team but, instead, do everything they can to ensure the that business as usual is, well...usual.

Eventually, of course, senior heads will roll if the security programs never get off the ground, as evidenced by failed audits, penalties, and increasing incidents and outages. But on a day-in, day-out basis, it's your job to protect the systems and information that support your business. You don't want to be on the receiving end of the disgruntled contractor who plants a virus that destroys your data or the well-meaning employee who inadvertently prices your products at 99% off.

Take a lead from our new cyber-security chief and review your processes and supporting systems to make sure that they are available, accessible, accurate and agile.