Part 7: Refocus on the Glide Path

Part 7: Refocus on the Glide Path

(Did you miss Part 1, 2, 3, 4 , 5 or 6? Click here for part 1; here for part 2; here for part 3; here for part 4; here for part 5; and here for part 6 to catch up!)

Often missing from the professionalization of Information Security debate is that of business intersection. The best-trained and certified professional will be of little use if injected into a working environment that is unconscious to need or risk. Where would the medical profession be today if it had not professionalized? What about the airline industry?

Providing businesses with trained professionals (not only in the technical aspects but also in the business aspects), combined with certification on a national or global level delivers to the business some basic assurance. A professional organizing body creating paths for the field and bringing together the brightest to help forge general directions and coverage across business verticals becomes a natural process benefiting practitioner and business alike.

However, the largest benefit comes from elevating the field into the business arena, where businesses are aware of, better understand the role of, and are able to fit Information Security into the proper level of business process. No longer would Information Security be just an IT problem, but what it actually is: a business problem. When businesses undertake Information Security like any other business risk, businesses enhance their level of security; this enhancement flows down to the products and services they deliver. When the current ad-hoc approach is exchanged with a holistic approach, it benefits the business, the industry, the consumer and the nation.

The rapid growth of technology since the birth of computers has revolutionized the world and the way both individuals and corporations leverage the Internet and computing devices. However, the rate of change has created new paradigms in business models at the same time complexity and risk acceptance has increased homogeneously.

Reliance on this multifarious cyber universe has likewise intensified and is projected to be increasingly ubiquitous as the “Internet of Things” looms on the near horizon. Yet the foundations baked into the very fabric of this creation were never designed to be secure. A central basic maxim of Information Security is that security after the fact is more costly, less effective and has a longer time to value. The current state of Information Security has borne out this truth in its very own industry.

Information Security is playing catch up at the same time it is trying to define a core in a multitude of security frameworks. As a relatively new industry, Information Security is facing challenges not unlike other new industries but it is not self-realizing its own deficiencies. Like the entry-level Information Security professional, that dives too deep into extraneous threat vectors but is unable to connect real business risk to the business, so goes the Information Security profession as a whole.

The Information Security profession must connect real business risk with the business in such a way that places the business in a position to lead Information Security. Professionalizing this industry may just be the only hope of making that switch and thus solidifying a permanent positive impact

About the Author

Martin Zinaich is the information security officer for the City of Tampa’s Technology and Innovation department. The insights in this article were shared at a Wisegate member event, where senior IT professionals discussed these pressing security issues.

Featured

  • Mall of America Deploys AI-Powered Analytics to Enhance Parking Intelligence

    Mall of America®, the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America, announced an expansion of its ongoing partnership with Axis Communications to deploy cutting-edge car-counting video analytics across more than a dozen locations. With this expansion, Mall of America (MOA) has boosted operational efficiency, improved safety and security, and enabled more informed decision-making around employee scheduling and streamlining transportation for large events. Read Now

  • Security Industry Association Launches New “askSIA” AI Tool

    The Security Industry Association (SIA) has unveiled a brand-new SIA member benefit – askSIA, a conversational AI agent designed to help users get the most out of their SIA membership, easily access SIA resources and find the latest information on SIA’s training and courses, reports and publications, events, certification offerings and more. SIA members can easily find askSIA by visiting the SIA homepage or looking for the askSIA icon in the top left of webpages. Read Now

    • Industry Events
  • Industry Embraces Mobile Access, Biometrics and AI

    A combination of evolving workplace dynamics, technology innovation and new user expectations is changing how people enter and interact with physical spaces. Access control is at the heart of these changes. Combined with biometrics and AI, mobile access control has become increasingly crucial for deploying entry solutions that are seamless, secure and adaptive to user needs. Read Now

  • Sustainable Video Solution Delivered for Landmark City of London Office Development

    An advanced, end-to-end video solution from IDIS, with a focus on reducing waste and costs, has helped a major office development in the City of London align its security with sustainability objectives. Read Now

  • DHS to End ‘Shoes-Off’ Travel Policy

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced a new policy today which will allow passengers traveling through domestic airports to keep their shoes on while passing through security screening at TSA checkpoints. Read Now

New Products

  • Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems, an industry-leading manufacturer of pedestrian and vehicle secure entrance control access systems, is pleased to announce the release of its groundbreaking V07 software. The V07 software update is designed specifically to address cybersecurity concerns and will ensure the integrity and confidentiality of Automatic Systems applications. With the new V07 software, updates will be delivered by means of an encrypted file.

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction.