Selling Off People's Lives

Do You Trust Your Employees?

Whether a business has three or 200,000 employees, data protection and security are of the utmost importance. Now, some may say, well, a three person business does not have much to protect, they are so small. A small company can have lots of information that could be just as confidential as a big business if accessed by hackers. So, if you are a smaller-based business do not think you are immune. You are not my friend. At least you have the luxury of being able to know all of your employees on a much more intimate level then a big business.

Technology vs. Human Will

A business can have all the latest and greatest technologies for security at their finger tips, but that does account for human "error" or in this case, human theft. It can be and is challenging for businesses to have to juggle the two because one cannot be around without the other. In the case of Lending Tree, employees took advantage of the access to information. We have to ask ourselves how this information was so easily abused. I mean, honestly, people's lives are at risk of identity theft and who knows what else and it seems this went on for a couple years. What were the motivating factors? Money? Revenge? As this story continues to unravel, I want to know.

As a business owner, one must have the at the bare minimum security protocols and be pro-active about it or there will be consequences. In terms of monitoring employees, if the release of people's information can reek havoc, you need to set-up security barriers that, for example, monitor emails being sent out (Symantec has a service). Then, have the settings pick up key words that could involve potential threats. Yes, it may be tedious to have to look through all the files, but if it saves the business from bad press and LOTS of law suits, it is well worth the business' time.

The original article was from the Charlotte Observer, but the link has since been taken down, so I found another one dated around the same time. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/042208-lendingtree-breach.html

UPDATE: http://www.charlotte.com/business/story/636437.html

So it seems there has been a class-action suit filed. One person has already come forward about the effects of this violation.

Garcia bought a copy of his credit report almost immediately after that and found that his information had been reviewed by nearly a dozen lenders without his permission, severely affecting his credit score, the complaint said.

Yikes! That is not good and is now a serious consequence of the renegade employees. The article mentions that the affected parties do not believe Lending Tree took adequate action to protect their information, which they may not have. I wish more details were given, but I'm going off of what I have access to.


The Ultimate Battle

How, as business owners, are we able to find the line between technological security measures and human security? It is extremely frustrating and scary. Businesses need to invest in security, it is a necessity. We cannot skimp on it because we have to ward off hackers. However, when our own employees poise a threat, it is the worst possible situation. Thus, it makes first off, the hiring process that much more important. It also puts further emphasis of keeping upper management in the trenches with the employees. The more they are involved, the less likely certain events/actions can slip by and heaven forbid they become wrapped up in it as well.

In addition, make it difficult for employees to be able to transfer sensitive information. If an employee has to log into a database to retrieve information, are they able to cut and paste? Can employees bring their lap-tops home? It's one thing to bring work home to get caught up, but if it involves dealing with very sensitive data, do not risk it, do not allow it!

Overall, this issue will always be around, but like I touched upon earlier, what were the motives? Did someone anger the employee? Were they short changed on something? Were they just a bad hire? In efforts to fight this sort of security threat, we need to analyze why it occurred. Only then can we figure out how to curb the threat. As a business owner, protecting your information is one of the most critical skills sets available.



~the GURU

What's Your Company's "5 O'Clock Shadow"?

Not even a Gillette Fusion can prevent it....

This is a two part entry. First, I need you all to take a couple days and think about your business. Hopefully, you know what you do well and what your SCA (sustainable competitive advantage) is and you are taking full advantage of it. As a result, your reaping the benefits of doing something better than your competitors, but how long do you think your SCA will last? Think about it?

Is it with your people?

Your software?

Your location?

First Mover Advantage?

Market Niche? Etc etc.

However, the businesses that truly know what they excel at spend more time focusing on what they need to work on / could do better or, as some say, fix "the hole in the bucket." Where are you efforts not holding water or not doing as well as you hope?

Business practices seem to be great early, but as the days/months go on, the shadow starts to emerge and your business is not as smooth anymore... What begins to itch? While the rugged look may look great on mountain men, they are not your business.

Please take a couple days and think about it. Be honest with yourself. This will help identify your next steps... Stay tuned.

~The GURU

Let Me See My Network!

Empower the Biz. Owner to see his networks and monitor it himself.

The all-too-common scenario: You're at home with your family or innocently relaxing. Then, your Blackberry begins to chime. You pick up your little handheld and learn... your network is down or experiencing "technical difficulties." And, this is the night all the file transfers and data back-ups have been schedule, and on top of that, you were submitting your proposal to a huge potential client.
A patch of sweat wets your brow, your heart rate went from resting to around 190bpm, and your kids might have just learned a new four letter word. What is your next step?
You do not know where the trouble is in your network. Is it even my network or is my service provider experiencing problems? All the routers, cables, hubs, etc are a vast maze. You passed on paying out the yin yang for the third party network management who, whenever you spoke with them, sounded like jibberish.

Now, what is your service provider doing? Do they pro-actively monitor your network? So, they already know there is a problem? How about SLAs (service license agreements)? All this information is critical. Most likely if it is some basement bargain priced providers you are in a "predicament." Remember, most of the time and what I am a firm believer in, "you get what you pay for." What are your answers to these questions? If you have a blank mind, better get on this...

However, if you are one of the enlightened ones, you realize telecommunications is an investment for your business. No communications = Business/Customers can't contact you. So, providers that pro-actively monitor networks to the T are where you need to be with your business. For example, the company I work for proactively monitors all its networks. If there are problems you see our trucks EVERYWHERE. Also, most of the networks supplied to you come with network management tools. The user can pull up all the network's statistics. You can pin-point where the problem is. Meanwhile, Mr. Bargain Basement is sleeping, most likely not even aware of the problem with your network. Do you ever even see their technicians?

C'mon, telecommunications are only becoming more critical with our globalizing world.
So, let's be honest here. Being able to see your network at any time is greatly beneficial. You can ping your network. Pin-point when you're peaking with bandwidth or trying to zero-in on problems, you can have more answers than question marks. The smarter and more-respected service providers are providing these services to their clients. Is your provider?

Web states are you friend. Take advantage of them.

~The GURU