Save the FISH: Secrets to Securing IT Assets

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

  Strategy  

There seems to be no end to the challenge of securing IT assets.  No sooner does someone devise new protection methods then someone else conceives a way to hack it, break it or circumvent it.  So, what are IT Assets and how do we protect them?
Before jumping into the specific trends, it helps to review what IT assets are.  When thinking about IT assets, just remember FISH:

• Facilities:  Data centers, call centers, ISPs, etc., housing IT-related technologies used by the enterprise.  This even includes space leased at third-party data centers.
• Information: Enterprise-related information stored on or produced by company-owned, leased or personal computers.  This includes financial, personnel, marketing or any other data that would normally be considered confidential by the owning organization.
• Software: This includes licensed products, in-house developed applications and utilities, operating systems and any other form of software that is used to support the business.
• Hardware: Computer equipment and related infrastructure.  This includes servers, networks, cabling, routers, hubs, communications, personal computers, laptops, printers, etc.  If it is used in computing, it is an IT asset.

For each type of asset, there are three areas of security to consider. The first is access security; that is, control over who can …

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