Data security is one of the most pressing concerns faced by businesses and the government. The amount of data (much of which contains confidential information) that is generated by such organizations continues to grow, whether it is stored internally or transmitted externally using the Internet. At the same time, the potential risks for a cyber attack against such data continue to increase. To help illustrate the potential risks, consider the front-page story from the New York Times which reported that a Chinese military organization had hacked into the confidential information of American corporations, organizations and government agencies dating as far back as 2006.
Soon after the New York Times article was published, President Obama addressed the data security crisis through issuance of an Executive Order entitled Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity (“EO”). The EO’s approach involves the creation of a series of mostly voluntary measures designed to increase information sharing among government agencies and private sector business so the private sector “may better protect and defend themselves against cyber threats.” The EO also seeks to develop industry best practices through voluntary mechanisms and incentives. This effort will be led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) and its purpose is to help identify and manage risks posed by cyber threats.
The EO constitutes a good first step in an effort to guard against the expanding threat to data security in both the public and private sectors. We will continue to monitor and provide information about future developments as the federal agencies and NIST work to implement the EO, thereby hopefully enabling you to prepare for future changes.
bTrade is a pioneer in the data security and managed file transfer fields, and is proud to have as customers many of the public and private entities potentially affected by the EO. So, please contact us at info@btrade.com if you have any questions, or if want our data security experts to analyze your infrastructure to determine how best to protect your valuable and confidential data, whether it is stored internally or transmitted externally.
