The annual RSA Conference in San Francisco is where the world’s security conscious businesses, experts and media people get together. On Tuesday, February 28, 2012, the place was mobbed. The expo floor of the Moscone Center was wall to wall people all day.
Unlike some other conferences, this one has a lot of very interested customers. It’s not just vendors talking to each other and people looking for jobs, but genuinely interested companies looking for solutions to real information security problems. As I walked around, I saw two themes that are no surprise. A lot of people are interested in keeping mobile computing safe and many are turning a serious eye to keeping data safe in the cloud.
I spoke with a customer from a large healthcare organization who said they have a multi tiered information security strategy. They have firewalls, intrusion detection systems, malware/anti-virus software and a trusted IP platform to keep the bad guys out. They also want to make sure that nothing valuable from inside makes its way into the wild. In a heavily regulated industry like healthcare, they can’t afford anything confidential to leave their business. They are looking at DLP (data loss prevention) and endpoint encryption tools to monitor and stop sensitive information getting out.
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In the last few weeks, hackers have been taking advantage of lazy security practices on websites. In two incidents involving the adult entertainment industry, almost 2 million customers have had usernames, passwords, email addresses, dates of birth and other personal information exposed.
On February 11, 2012, Luxembourg based Manwin Holding SARL had a data breach that compromised 350,000 user records, including usernames, encrypted passwords and email addresses. A hacker who said he is affiliated with the group Anonymous accessed an inactive forum to help enter some linked websites. And when he got there, he found a bonanza of data. A small sample was posted to the Internet and I’m sure hackers are having a field day as they sift through the information. Based on what was leaked, it was possible to determine some users’ full names and country of residence. Hello fraud and phishing!
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Smart phones outsold PCs in 2011, according to market research firm Canalys. Manufacturers shipped 487.7 million smart phones compared to 414.6 million PCs. The PC number includes desktops, laptops and tablets. If you add tablets to phones, that is 550.9 million mobile devices.
A lot of us are buying smart phones and tablets for our personal use and want to use them at work. They offer a lot of productivity gains and just make life easier. Why should I carry 2 phones or use something that’s not current. Years ago I had a Blackberry phone that my employer gave me. The iPhone had just come out and it didn’t have any apps yet. Android phones were still a pipe dream. My Blackberry did what I needed it to do and I was happy. I could send email, update my calendar and do some basic internet activities.
Fast forward to today. If my employer offered me a Blackberry, I would say “No thanks. I prefer to use my own.” The devices I own are better than what I am being offered. I am used to them and they make my work and personal life easier. Like it or not, I am connected constantly. Why should I give up my mobile device for something that doesn’t give me what I need?
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We all love email. You can send and receive it on your phone, tablet, laptop and desktop computer. We do it because it’s easy. Most of us have a company email and at least one private email. Since anyone can sign up for Gmail, Yahoo mail or Hotmail, everyone has an email account. it’s our default document distribution tool because it’s easy.
Because it’s so easy to do, you may send the wrong document to the wrong person. If you send confidential and sensitive information outside of your company, that could be a HUGE problem. Most email programs have a type-ahead feature that helps you fill in email addresses as you type. This is great since most of us frequently send email to the same people. The downside is that we are too reliant on the technology and may not carefully look before hitting the Send button.
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