Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Cybersecurity
    • Development
    • IT Management
    • Networking

    Don’t Be a Security Villain

    By
    Chris Preimesberger
    -
    April 8, 2008
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      SAN FRANCISCO-Security scares off new projects and innovation.

      EMC Executive Vice President and RSA Security Division President Art Coviello told a standing-room only crowd of about 8,000 during the opening keynote of the RSA Security 2008 Conference here at the Moscone Center that “we need to turn a longstanding stereotype of information security on its head and show how information-centric security can be an accelerator-and not an inhibitor-of business innovation and growth.”

      The need to link security to information management and to build it into the information infrastructure is better understood [in 2008], Coviello said.

      “Just look at the continued pace of security acquisitions by infrastructure companies and the integration of acquired technologies across all parts of the infrastructure.”

      But when it comes to security’s impact on business performance, it’s clear the transformation is incomplete, he said.

      In soon-to-be-released research, IDC will reveal a startling statistic, Coviello said. More than 80 percent of IT, security and business executives surveyed admit that their organizations have shied away from business innovation opportunities because of information security concerns, he said.

      “We talked to your peers, a group of senior security, risk and privacy executives at Global 1,000 companies who confirmed our view of the existing security stereotype,” Coviello said.

      “This is what they said: ‘Typically in most global organizations security is viewed at best as a necessary evil and more commonly as a necessary friction. This derives from security’s primary focus on attempting to constrain behavior to prevent negative events. Although well-intentioned, the inevitable result is that security practitioners are not viewed as enablers but people preventing the business from doing what it needs to do.”

      Consider projects based on the risk, not the security

      Coviello told eWEEK a few weeks ago in an interview that one of the keys to turning good data security into a business advantage is by continually building more business intelligence, developed and collected by security technology companies, into large databases and the latest security products that keep watch over them.

      This business intelligence is aimed at making the security products and the databases they protect moving targets that are harder for data pirates to hit-plus it gives the business a better picture of who their customers are and what their buying patterns may be, he said.

      Coviello said that the next time a new idea comes up don’t start by saying that it isn’t secure.

      “Start by evaluating exposures, the probability of the exposures being exploited and the materiality of the consequences. Then put forth a plan to reduce risk in all three areas. Nothing should be done unless it is in the context of risk,” he said.

      To do this effectively, enterprises can build repeatable processes which will in turn free you up to implement yet another recommendation-making the time to be strategic, Coviello said.

      ‘Use automation and optimization. Get your foundation right … then you can spend less time blocking and tackling and more time on higher level thinking,'” Coviello said, quoting his researchers.

      “So, yes, we can inspire confidence to enable innovation, but it requires a whole new mindset, a new way of thinking about security,” he said.

      Make Security a National Priority

      Coviello said that the recommendations of his research group are clear. They align the practitioner with the business and align the implementation of security with the risk.

      “At most companies today, security projects are being driven by compliance and audit, so what a surprise that they don’t have alignment with the business! Security practitioners are not working on business problems; they are working on regulatory issues,” Coviello said.

      He called for more aggressive action on a number of fronts to help enable innovation, and offered some recommendations:

      “First, Congress should pass a breach notification law that creates one federal standard for notifying consumers should a breach of personally identifiable information occur, and establish national baseline standards for safeguarding sensitive information,” he said. “Right now there are 40 separate state bills. Makes no sense.”

      Coviello went on: “Second, we need more government investment in education to produce better trained programmers and security professionals, the human resources we are in dire need of. And third, if we want to enable innovation with more innovative security we need to spend more on research. When you consider the stakes, cyber-security research should be a high priority.”

      Thinking security

      The RSA president then called for a “thinking security” approach.

      “This requires a different breed of technology. We must look beyond tools that blindly lock down data toward mechanisms that can understand information and safeguard it intelligently throughout its life cycle,” Coviello said.

      “From targeted advertising, to Internet search, to online book recommendations, our daily activities are empowered by a growing computer understanding of human discourse and behavior. Thinking security is about co-opting this intelligence to bring new flexibility and strength to information protection.”

      Coviello said. the idea of “thinking security” cannot be independently accomplished. It is interdependent on and with the IT infrastructure and should be just one element of that infrastructure.

      “The rise of thinking security will mean that information-centric security is a reality that will catapult security to a new plane where it is widely seen as an accelerator of innovation,” Coviello said.

      Chris Preimesberger
      https://www.eweek.com/author/cpreimesberger/
      Chris J. Preimesberger is Editor Emeritus of eWEEK. In his 16 years and more than 5,000 articles at eWEEK, he distinguished himself in reporting and analysis of the business use of new-gen IT in a variety of sectors, including cloud computing, data center systems, storage, edge systems, security and others. In February 2017 and September 2018, Chris was named among the 250 most influential business journalists in the world (https://richtopia.com/inspirational-people/top-250-business-journalists/) by Richtopia, a UK research firm that used analytics to compile the ranking. He has won several national and regional awards for his work, including a 2011 Folio Award for a profile (https://www.eweek.com/cloud/marc-benioff-trend-seer-and-business-socialist/) of Salesforce founder/CEO Marc Benioff--the only time he has entered the competition. Previously, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. He has been a stringer for the Associated Press since 1983 and resides in Silicon Valley.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×