Opportunity or conflict? Security in 2007

Opportunity or conflict? Security in 2007

Security the lynchpin for success:
• Identity management to become preeminent
• The threat from within: role of regulators
• The rise of the Chief Privacy Officer

IT services company Unisys sees security pervading government and business strategic planning in 2007. In particular, policy makers, governments as users of IT services, and the financial services and transportation sectors will continue to lead security initiatives. The challenge will be to define and implement appropriate security measures that deliver business improvements, increased profit and lower risk. Security must not become a dull routine.

Unisys predicts that security will increasingly be defined by balancing security, privacy and safe international commerce. Addressing security “without borders” will focus on effective systems and demonstrable benefits. These will in turn build trust with customers and the general public, and sustained economic growth.

Regulators and policy makers will increasingly seek to contain risk and extend jurisdictions. Perhaps the biggest risk will be around compliance driving security measures that simply “tick the box”. Companies and government will need to create confidence through their actions ahead of compliance, by providing more meaningful solutions.

Terry Shubkin, Accounts Manager, Unisys New Zealand said, “There is a real challenge for both governments and companies in not letting security become routine, nor in letting it become too difficult to accommodate.
“It’s the Unisys view that “security ecosystems” are now at the core of every organisation. The commercial opportunities, the national security risks, the effects of extended jurisdictions straddling national borders, and the underlying public opinion, will all ensure that this remains the case. This “blurring of boundaries” means balancing border protection, identity, and the free flow of goods and services.

“The Unisys Security Index tells us that both the general public and our clients are approaching security with a much more comprehensive understanding of the range of issues involved. They understand the need for a variety of responses. There seems little doubt that success in 2007 will be defined by how companies and governments respond to these sentiments.”

The threat from within: role of regulators
The tendency for security breaches to come from inside organisations is not new and will increase in 2007. The increased mobility of personal devices such as MP3 players and USB keys makes this more likely, whether these breaches are malicious or not. The challenge becomes more complex as borders are crossed. The consequence of any significant increase in breaches will be the imposition of regulations within national boundaries and jurisdictions, the extension of jurisdictions beyond national boundaries, and increased pressures to get ahead of these problems.

Industry standards are needed, not necessarily imposed by governments. At the World Conference in Information Technology held in May 2006, in the United States, Unisys called for the creation and adoption of a comprehensive set of standards for security that will promote the free movement of legitimate commerce across borders, and which will give regulators the tools they need to police these movements effectively.

Identity management preeminent
Identity management will be the security preoccupation in all sectors and industries in 2007. It’s a preoccupation for many already, in that its effective adoption, especially inside companies, is fraught with risk if it alienates customers. Ensuring people are who they say they are continues to underpin everything that we do. Organisations will make economic and investment decisions on the basis of effective identity management, knowing that consumer confidence, or a lack of it, will make or break the solutions.

The rise of the Chief Privacy Officer
That the role is on the increase is not in doubt. Its position within companies will evolve in 2007 to be central to consumer confidence in any particular company. Privacy and security will increasingly have a symbiotic relationship, personified in the CPO. Its success will be based on broad strategic views of security within organisations, much less on narrow issues.

ENDS

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