IT Security: I didn’t do it…
Having worked at Dyrand Systems, a company that focusses heavily on IT/network security for SME’s, I’ve gained a new appreciation for the topic of security. In my personal experience, I’ve never had any real security concerns - nor has the average computer user, I’m sure. But the question I have to ask myself is whether or not the lack of concern is justified. In one sense, I have been using computers for long enough to know that some sites, some files, and some Emails are better left untouched, but at the same time, what I call confidence could easily be looked at as arrogance or ignorance. So what is the difference?
Having spent time at several different IT companies, I’ve found that my personal knowledge and experience with computers has put me on the safe side of the fence. There are still some questionable activities that I participate in online, with some downloads having the potential to cause headaches, but it’s a calculated risk. While the average person doesn’t understand that signing up for that poker site will likely result in spyware infecting their system, I avoid those types of traps. An article on Computerworld goes over some classic statements that, as the title says, scare security pros. The article alludes to the fact that many of the problems a company faces with respect to IT security are not only avoidable, but are often a result of ignorance or arrogance - an attitude that it won’t happen to me. When systems crash, data is lost, or security is breached, it’ll be easy to pass everything off with the simple phrase I didn’t do it! Of course you didn’t. If you had, I wouldn’t be writing this article.