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Data Thieves Walk Among Us  
by  CIOInsight - RSS Feed   Published on: Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:53:00 -0400

Many employees have no reservations about stealing electronic assets when they leave a job, according to a survey of more than 3,500 adults in the United States and the United Kingdom. The survey was conducted in June and July 2010 by research firm Harris Interactive on behalf of identity-governance solutions vendor SailPoint. Among those surveyed were 1,594 employees with access to their employer's/client's IT systems. Nearly half of the workers surveyed said they would take some form of company property with them when leaving a position; these workers are more likely to steal e-data than a stapler. In fact, more than a quarter say that they would take customer data, including contact information. The upshot: CIOs have to re-examine the way they balance business risk with the need for access to sensitive data and applications. "Many employees may not believe that taking company data is equivalent to stealing,” says Jackie Gilbert, vice president of marketing and a cofounder at SailPoint. "It highlights what I call a 'moral gray area' around ownership of electronic data. As frequently as employees move to competitive companies, these attitudes are major red flags for employers." - ...

Enterprise Security Risks, Part 2: Behind the Threats   
by  CIOInsight - RSS Feed   Published on: Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:45:16 -0400

In Part One of our Enterprise Security Risks feature, CIO Insight presented the results of a remarkably detailed report on enterprise security from IBM. The stats arent encouraging: There were nearly 4,400 new vulnerabilities disclosed in first-half 2010, a 36 percent increase over the same time period in 2009. More than half of these incidents had no vendor-supplied patch. Nearly 95 percent of the vulnerabilities can be exploited remotely, with no local system access required. Numbers, however, do not tell the entire story. The research document, titled the IBM X-Force 2010 Mid-Year Trend and Risk Report , goes into significant depth with respect to the "why" behind the numbers – the emerging trends and future developments that could result in an even greater degree of risks for enterprises. For CIOs, the research can serve as a blueprint for the current and future nature of system violations. The report is the result of ongoing, in-depth research by IBM's 3,500-member skilled security services team. These highlights shed light on the technologies and behaviors that are driving these alarming incidents. - ...

Enterprise Security Risks, Part 1: By the Numbers   
by  CIOInsight - RSS Feed   Published on: Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:41:27 -0400

In this first installment of our two-part series on enterprise security risks, we delve into some of the threats for which CIOs should be increasingly on guard. In Part Two , we look at the trends behind the numbers. These figures are excerpted from a mid-year enterprise risk report from IBM, which shows that vulnerability disclosures are up significantly compared to last year. Many of these incidents cannot be mitigated with a patch because none is available. Remote attacks – meaning those which can be launched without prior access to the enterprise's systems – are now the most popular MO for those seeking to launch a systems attack. And plug-ins for popular Web apps are also a continuing source of opportunity for IT network exploitations. The complete research document, the IBM Security X-Force 2010 Mid-Year Trend and Risk Report , is the result of ongoing, in-depth analysis by the X-Force Research team. The researchers cull facts from a database of more than 50,000 computer-security vulnerabilities and millions of intrusion events on tens of thousands of managed network sensors all over the world, as well as their Web crawler, spam collectors and numerous other intelligence sources. Here's a look at some revealing numbers that – put together – convey an unsettling state of security for the modern IT enterprise. - ...

How to Sell the Value of Data to Your CEO  
by  CIOInsight - RSS Feed   Published on: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:09:54 -0400

The McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas recently conducted a survey, which was sponsored by Sybase, to explore how investments in data management and information technology affect the financial performance of a company. University researchers, working in conjunction with the Indian School of Business, surveyed 150 Fortune 1000 firms across several industries in an effort to quantify the relationship between effective data and key performance metrics. The study examined how 10% improvements to one of five distinct attributes of data impacts the metrics commonly reported for assessing the financial performance of businesses. For example, the median Fortune 1000 business in the study's sample would increase annual revenue by $2.01 billion as a result of increasing the usability of its data by 10%, according to the survey. This is driven by a strong correlation between data usability and sales per employee, which correspondingly increases 14.4%. The research directly quantifies the effect of data attributes on financial ratios that are key indicators of a firm's competitiveness, overall health and profitability (including measurable impacts on return on equity, return on invested capital and return on assets). Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that significant gains in financial performance occur with effective investment in data and IT. You're probably not all that surprised by the University's findings. After all, you know the value that data management can have on your operation, and you're most likely looking for ways build the business case for your CEO. You're not alone. The university researchers discovered that CEOs don't always value data the way they should. They also found that those companies that do the best job at managing data see the biggest financial gains. Read on for key research findings you can use to build your own business case. - ...

IBM: World's Fastest Chip?  
by  CIOInsight - RSS Feed   Published on: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

IBM is claiming its z196 processor breaks a world record for the speediest chip. - The new z196 processor will ship in a new version of the IBM mainframe -- the zEnterprise System -- beginning Sept. 10. IBM Distinguished Engineer, Jim Porell, told CIO Insight sister publication eWEEK that the chip in IBM's new zEnterprise System clocks in at record-breaking 5.2 GHz, a speed that c...

Crisis Survival Guide: How to Lead in Tough Times  
by  CIOInsight - RSS Feed   Published on: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:21:56 -0400

Toyota. BP. Goldman Sachs. All three are huge, traditionally respected brands that have undergone significant crises. Many companies that suffer a devastating turn of fortune don't survive, according to Priscilla Nelson and Ed Cohen, authors of the new book, Riding the Tiger: Leading Through Learning in Turbulent Times (ASTD Press/now available). In the book, Nelson and Cohen provide CIOs and other senior executives with a step-by-step process for getting through a storm with the corporate ship intact. It isn't about “battening down the hatches,” as some leaders instinctively would do. Instead, it's about opening up lines of communications – even more so than when business is going well. The authors speak from experience: both worked for Satyam Computer Services, a company that found itself in the midst of a major accounting-fraud scandal in 2009. At the time, Nelson was global director of people leadership and Cohen was chief learning officer. The company lives on as Mahindra Satyam, a consulting/IT services business. Here's what Nelson and Cohen have to share about their experiences as top managers during tough times: - ...

Going Google  
by  CIO Executive Briefing   Published on: Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:41:00 +1000

It is 8pm midweek and three senior executives at Altium are working on a document they need first thing the next day — a presentation to staff about behavioural change. The program manager is editing text; the company president is asking questions about the program; and CIO, Alan Perkins, is answering his president’s questions.

CIOs: Empower your employees' use of consumer tech  
by  CIO Executive Briefing   Published on: Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:53:00 +1000

How empowered are your employees to solve customer and business problems? What's your role in empowering them? These questions are often absent from IT's mission, but not from the minds of those it serves.
 

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