No matter what you do, you cannot escape security. I was reminded of that as I tried to access one of our applications here at 11:11 Systems. Although I entered my password and followed up with two-factor authentication, the system had locked me out. I’m certain this was due to “user error,” but it also reminded me that security has a two-fold purpose. It needs to keep the wrong people out, but it also needs to let the right people in.
This incident emphasizes that security is at the heart of everything we do at 11:11 Systems. It is addressed on many distinct levels, through our people, processes, and technology. Most of our customers and partners know that security is an essential part of our cloud, connectivity, and (obviously) our security solutions.
Safety and cyber resiliency are also top of mind for so many businesses these days because a lack of security is affecting the bottom line. Whether it is ransomware or data breaches or another form of cybercrime, a week doesn’t go by without an organization being featured in headlines due to a security failure.
Security is also at the heart of our upcoming season of the CloudBytes podcast. “With cybercrime on the rise, we know that our customers and partners are focused on what they need to do to keep their networks and infrastructure secure,” said Brian Knudtson, director of cloud market intelligence for 11:11 Systems. “With the dual pressures of cybercrime and adoption of the cloud, security really can’t be ignored any more.”
Over the next few weeks, the podcast will feature conversations around security and what you need to do — changes to make, things to look for, important data to keep in mind — to keep your organization more secure. In truth, security can and should be foremost in your mind. “If security is an afterthought, you’ve already failed,” explains Trevor Pott, solutions architect at Juniper Networks.
What should be your first step to ensure your organization is secure? “We need to go back to the fundamentals of security and think about the fact that availability is just one leg of the CIA triad, the three core tenants of security: confidentiality, integrity and availability,” according to Steve Sims, chief information security officer at 11:11 Systems. He also adds that many businesses are having trouble finding the right technical talent to provide the levels of security that businesses need nowadays.
The solution isn’t to lock everything down completely. If you try to do that, your users will find another, unapproved method to get their work done and do what they need to do. That’s a security failure.
If my boss is reading this, you can rest assured that I did not go rogue when I had difficulty using one of our backend apps. I did reach out to the system admin and worked to find what the problem was and how to solve it. That’s security success.
Check out this CloudBytes Season Three preview to hear expert advice on how to navigate security and find your own success. Upcoming podcast episodes will focus on ways to protect your network, malware defense, and other ways your organization can become cyber resilient.
