Feeling Insecure?

Bob Weinstein is a journalist who covers technology, project management, the workplace and career development.

  Business Intelligence   Strategy  

It didn't take 9/11 for the government to take security issues seriously. Decades before the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense was addressing security issues, says Jay Jesse, CEO and president of Intelligent Software Solutions, a Colorado Springs-based company that builds data analysis software tools for many government agencies.

"Big defense contractors like Northrop Grumman, for example, have always been concerned with security issues, such as developing better ways to protect data, disaster recovery and new encryption tools," he says.

Government contractors must be on top of security. But what about the rest of corporate America? Is it pouring big bucks into the hottest technological security tools? It depends whom you ask. PMs and virtually everyone involved in IT management ought to be taking it very seriously. If your company is a security laggard, you ought to take the initiative. It could turn out to be a smart career move. The following story looks at the IT security conundrum and how far we've come.

Norman Rankis, a security consultant to government agencies and chancellor of Gibbs College in Livingston, N.J., says many companies (especially financial-services firms) have gotten on the stick and are not just talking about the importance of security technology, they're hiring people to manage it. Rankis says new job …

Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.