With hacking as a new reality, businesses must protect their data
RE “SONY surrenders to terror” (Editorial, Dec. 19): Is this our new reality? If the Sony example is any indication, cyberterrorism will dictate American and international businesses’ product decisions and innovations and, ultimately, their economic growth.
Is capitulating to the demands of hackers easier and more prudent financially than making data security an integrated part of standard business procedures? Business leaders must ask: Am I in tune with the data that drives my revenue? How do we protect it? Does my security plan support my business?
As much as technology has enabled business transformation and growth, it has clearly opened up more threats and vulnerabilities. As we have seen at so many companies, technical innovation has created infinite avenues for competitors, malcontents, and criminals to access and expose valuable information. As proven by Sony, cyberterrorists have the capability to bring regular business operation to a halt.
How do we counter?
No technology on earth will prevent 100 percent of threats or completely alleviate risk. But 100 percent prevention is not the point. When business leaders understand which data are important to their business, when they realize and prioritize the risk within these systems, and when they create a clear security framework that stands up to repeated tests, they significantly decrease the likelihood of an attack and the severity of its impact.
Kevin West
Brookline
The writer is chief executive of K logix, a security company.
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