Get Used to Being a Target

The proliferation of services into the online world continues at a staggering pace. Disruptive business models such as Uber and AirBnB exist only because of the connectivity afforded to individuals by the internet. We live so much of our lives online today it is hard to remember what life was like before the internet. The internet provides us with massive benefits and can be positive for individuals and society as a whole. As yet, as we are now painfully aware; there are also many risks associated with the web. I have spent my entire career helping organisations design, procure and deploy software solutions to a wide range of business problems and I believe information security is one of the biggest challenges that organisations face today.  

I believe it is incumbant on leadership teams to think about information security and the impact of cybercrime when considering their business strategy and the action of competitive forces.  Perhaps even Cybercrime should be added to Porters 5 forces! Not a day passes by without a notification of a breach or a company being ‘outed’ by the media for a breach.  I recently attended a meeting with an organisation where one of the individuals said, “I don’t think we are a target for cybercriminals and I’m not sure the board think we are at risk as well.”  To which you have to ask the question, are they watching the news? Or following  the press? The unfortunate reality of running a business or government department today is that if you are storing electronic information, you are a target … whether you like it or not. Information has value. Always has. Always will. And you are not the only ones that can see the value in the information you hold. Anyone with responsibility for operating information systems needs to fully appreciate they are a target and help the board or business understand this reality. Anything less is simply living in denial.