Tait CIO John Emerson discusses why security of information is such a concern, and where to start to make a difference.
What can a security breach mean for your organization?
- Loss of reputation, customer or community trust
- Intellectual property theft
- Loss of investor confidence market share and revenue
- Legal action
Security is as much of a concern for shareholders as regulators. Ultimately though, it doesn’t matter how a hacker gets in. Once they are inside, the damage could be substantial. One large Australian company lost 20% of its market value within three days of a security breach being disclosed. However, there are some key areas to focus on, to reduce the likelihood of this occurring.
1. MOBILE DEVICES:
Include work and personal devices, particularly if they operate on public networks, including TCP/IP.
2. PEOPLE:
Background check staff and ensure they participate in the development (or upgrade) of your security policy.
3. LMR NETWORK:
Include base stations, devices and software.
4. OTHER NETWORKS:
Local area, wide area and the cloud; If these appear secure, pay an accredited organization to try and break in to test it.
5. VENDOR SUPPLY CHAIN (PRODUCTS AND SERVICES):
Ensure they have ISO 27001 certification.
6. BRING YOUR OWN DEVICES (BYOD):
Policy AND processes should be in place to protect and secure private data and applications.
7. SOCIAL MEDIA:
This creates new opportunities for hackers even on a work device at home. Ensure this is covered in the security policy.
8. PHYSICAL SECURITY:
Often overlooked, ensure processes around access logs, swipe cards etc are stringent.
9. SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS:
When considering new applications for purchase, ensure they are secure.
This article is taken from Connection Magazine, Edition 4. Connection is a collection of educational and thought-leading articles focusing on critical communications, wireless and radio technology.
COMMENTS