2010 Look Ahead: Chief Security Concerns For Chief Executives

David Ting

David Ting, 25/01/2010, posted in "Analysis"

Named one of Infoworld's Top 25 CTO's of 2006, David Ting has more than 20 years of experience in developing advanced imaging software and systems for high security, high-availability systems. ...more info

Named one of Infoworld's Top 25 CTO's of 2006, David Ting has more than 20 years of experience in developing advanced imaging software and systems for high security, high-availability systems. Prior to founding Imprivata he developed biometric applications for government programs and Web-based applications for secure document exchange. David was formerly the technical manager of Kodak's Boston Technology Center, a systems development group for Eastman Kodak. He managed an engineering group that developed the software platform used in most of Kodak's digital photography products including Photo CD print applications. Prior to that position, he managed Atex System's Imaging Department, where he was responsible for the first full colour output system used in the newspaper industry. David worked for a number of start-ups including Lexidata and Delphax Systems, now a division of Xerox. Most recently, he was chief architect for eCopyIt, an Internet infrastructure start-up offering distributed document capture and direct delivery of documents. He was a member of the scientific staff at the BNR/INRS Labs in Montreal, a collaborative research institution jointly operated by Bell-Northern Research and University of Quebec. He holds six patents and has several patents pending. ...less info

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As we turn the page to 2010 and look to delve into the top–level security concerns that lie ahead, we’d be remiss not to reflect on those security events that helped shape 2009 into the ‘year of the data breach,’ and take these as learning experiences for the New Year.

With the economy in its worst state in decades, we saw IT budgets decimated and security threats evolve into clever, sophisticated entities that caused serious havoc for organizations. Do the names Kaiser Permanente, Fannie Mae and Stens Corporation ring a bell?

These big name organizations experienced some of the most high-profile data breaches as a result of poor security and access management policies. And whether it is a result of disgruntled employees, inappropriate password sharing or terminated employees retaining access rights, these events point to a trend that isn’t going away.

Now let’s focus our attention back to 2010 and break down the top-level security concerns chief executives need to focus on to protect the integrity of their organization. The global economic downturn and wave of breaches mentioned above are clear indicators that these types of activities are only going to propagate more strongly in 2010, as threats are not only escalating but becoming more sophisticated and damaging.

And to help protect these organizations, we are seeing an increased number of federal compliance regulations set in place—HITECH ACT, Data Breach Notification Laws, HIPAA, Meaningful Use of EMRs, etc. Understanding these regulations and having strong security policies in place are critical to starting 2010 off on the right foot.