Chapter III: Protecting Customer Provided Information


Charles Rex IV
National Defense University, USA      

Introduction

Protecting customer provided information is crucial to the success of the organization. In order to maintain existing customers and attract new ones, firms must have a strategy to safeguard the information that the customers provide. The burden of responsibility is on the shoulders of the firm. The firm that demonstrates value to the customer and provides the most cost effective means of doing so will win in the competitive market.

Obviously, protecting customer provided information is a difficult task in the evolving and rapidly changing technological environment. However, it is a challenge that all firms must resolve to compete successfully in the marketplace . Ultimately, the executives and managers of an organization have a fiduciary responsibility to their stockholders to increase the value of the firm. The value of the firm increases as the customer base increases ; however, security failures undermine this effort.

Accepting that information technology security is a winless game, managers and executives struggle to provide justification for security expenses that will not reveal an immediate return on investment. Coupled with this struggle is the complexity involved in identifying the vulnerabilities that exist in a dynamic environment and the potential threats that may or may not reveal themselves . It is difficult to balance the risks while justifying the value gained by investment in information security mechanisms. Extremes on either side of the continuum breed failure.

Protecting customer provided data spans further than merely the customer-to-business relationship; it extends to the business-to- business relationship along the entire supply chain, from distribution outlets to tiered suppliers. Security failures also may result in legal ramifications that could cripple the ability of the firm to function. Managing the security responsibility requires that firms design information assurance strategies that are dynamic in nature to match the evolving technological arena. These strategies are linked with proactive protective measures that must be flexible enough to cope with the rapidly changing environment.




Information Technology Security. Advice from Experts
Information Technology Security. Advice from Experts
ISBN: 1591402484
EAN: N/A
Year: 2004
Pages: 113

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