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Are you popular? Do other people have in interest for gathering data on you? Are the interested parties friendlies or otherwise utterly dangerous?

All these questions quickly come to mind for information security experts who look to secure data in all ways possible to prevent that it get leaked into the wrong hands.

The internet connects over 1.5 billion people daily, for anything ranging from email or web surfing to complex remote medical interventions — that makes for a tempting target for ill intended individuals looking to get their hands on sensitive data, which is basically why you need to protect yourself better.

What you did to protect your data a year ago probably isn’t as good today because the very nature of threats keeps shifting in sometimes unforseen territories. Regularly assessing the efficiency of your data protection will become even more critical in the future as attackers, ranging from more or less talented hackers, organized crime and even foreign governments will try their best to steal anything of value (for them) that you may have.

Your computer’s hard drive is like a proverbial safe which instantly becomes (way) more vulnerable from the moment you connect to the internet or even a home wireless network.

If you intend to have the upper hand against those determined to steal your data, you need to be one step ahead of them, namely with the following no non-sense strategies:

• Enclaves - Early on, determine what’s the most sensitive data you must protect and give it special treatment because that’s probably what the data thieves will be looking for.
• Border firewalls - Network-layer firewalls work best when combined with application-layer counterparts so be creative in protecting your “borders”.
• Strong authentication - Require strong passwords (on everything) which must be changed regularly and for more serious security needs, consider using token-based systems (physical USB key-like devices with ever changing “tokens” to access the data).
• Configuration and patch management - Make sure your (1) equipment, (2) software and (3) human resources are always “well maintained”… and up-to-date!
• Host-based firewalls - Server and workstation intrusion, virus and malware protection is still essential to weed out the unwanted stuff that somehow finds a way in (in spite of all the other protections).
• Data encryption - Make sure to especially encrypt data on mobile devices since they’re the ones likely to be lost (or stolen) when in transit — encrypt all you can.
• Awareness and training - An aggressive cybersecurity program will go a long way in efficiently protecting yourself against newer threats.

While some treat data security entirely as a hit-and-miss process, experience shows that luck favors the prepared, when it comes to cybersecurity.

Forget the antiquated (but still active, alas) Nigerian bank scam threat pouring in email boxes all over the world, the newer threats tend to be socially engineered so ensuing phishing attacks are savvily aimed at the intellectual interest of the end user, making them that much harder to debunk. In other words, attacks are getting uncomfortably personal.

As you attempt, most probably armed with gear, software and knowledge, to fend off the attackers’ attempting to break open the gates to your digital kingdom, keep in mind that people are the weak link in any network security effort.

Interestingly, there’s a corollary to the “people are the problem” saying and it has to with the widely recognized fact that people are also the most effective “tool” to fight attackers.

Although you may never be perfectly secure, make an effort to prevent data thieves from succeeding in their highly illegal —and overwhelmingly stealth— attempts to steal from you.

Tags: security, cybersecurity, it, firewall, border, encryption, data theft, hard drives

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Information. Almost all organizations accumulate it. Some rise above the others by seeing their data as a strategic asset to be intelligently exploited. The later requires a mix of vision, faith and creativity.

Do your organization truly understand the value, hidden away in arrays of hard drives?

For the sheer sake of achieving new heights, in this digital era, let’s hope it does!

The typical scenario is that of an organization which accumulates various pieces of data which are very seldom toyed around with to find new, more creative uses for. Just think about the various departments all working in proverbial silos or paranoid IT folks trying to “secure” the data so much that it ends up locked away in some data center, never to be seen again!

The era of merely shuffling numbers in a spreadsheet are numbered. Nowadays, the required data manipulation complexity level goes way beyond summarizing a column or two. It’s now about twisting the data way beyond its initially intended use to produce otherwise unforseen value.

As with lots of things in life, the inescapable truth is that the true power of BI, short for business intelligence, ultimately resides in the smarts injected into it.

Since it’s always a good time to start (1) implementing, (2) using and (3) profiting from business intelligence software and tools, here’s a quick list of things to do, intended mostly for BI newbies:

1. Think big - Imagine how information can be used to improve -everything- about your business instead of focusing on the query tools (the low-level mechanics);
2. Start small - A focused project, for instance, will likely yielda fast win, generate executive enthusiasm and provide insight into BI’s almost inevitable complexities;
3. Encourage “business & IT” partnerships - Make sure you learn what drives the organization and staff the BI team jointly with business -and- techies;
4. Clean up your act - Use a data governance program to improve data integrity, especially when your source systems are a mess because they could extend that mess out to your BI platform;
5. Make tools engaging for users - Keep in mind that BI interfaces are typically optimized for different users and applications. As such, never underestimate the importance of interface appeal.

BI doesn’t come cheap and it’s not necessarily a walk in the park to properly implement but it’s typically worth it, especially when the right “data equals value” mindset permeates the organization.

There has been a surge in major acquisitions recently, such as Oracle-Hyperion, SAP-Business Objects and IBM-Cognos so that should, in theory, mean more software value for the money, assuming more smarts have been added to the “merged” offering. Although it’s still rather new, Microsoft’s PerformancePoint software might become a credible contender in the BI field, especially for mid-sized businesses.

BI’s increasingly strategic importance can’t go unnoticed, especially for executives.

Even though many organizations made their first steps with BI as departmental initiatives, they’ve transformed those pioneering developments into mission-critical apps.

Deploying BI across the organization brings, among other things, economies of scale thus reducing development and infrastructure costs.

In short, perhaps you too should take BI for a “data exploration” spin!

Tags: bi, business intelligence, strategic, organizations, oracle, sap, ibm, microsoft

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The subprime loan scandal is far from over, in the United States. In fact, the toll keeps rising as these line are written.

We’re talking about big name lenders who lost big on very shaky loans to individuals who were so tight in their budget (assuming they held one) that they got caught up in way too much debt, the instant the American economy hit a speed bump (in this case, most notably, a raise in the interest rates).

So here’s the top 5 list of (the estimated) write-downs on structured products, which include collateralized debt and loan obligations as well as asset and mortgage-backed securities (although leveraged loans aren’t included):

1. Citigroup • 9,8B$ — It’s a low estimate since Citigroup has stated that the figure could rise another 3B$ higher;
2. Merrill Lynch • 7,9B$ — Analysts are projecting for another 2B$ in write-downs, this quarter;
3. UBS • 4,4B$ — They still have roughly 40B$ in CDOs and mortgage-backed securities on their books;
4. Morgan Stanley • 3,7B$ — The total subprime exposure after write-downs could reach 6B$;
5. Wachovia • 1,0B$ — Was one of the year’s top subprime mortgage CDO issuers, this year.

Further down the list, you can find (in order) Credit Suisse, Lehman Brothers, Bank of America, BearStearns and J.P. Morgan Chase.

Some analysts say greed alone made the subprime market grow, derail and later, explode. While this might be true, at least in part, the subprime debacle is basically all about risk and reward trumping fundamental values that just went flying out the window when the easy money mirage swept Wall Street off its feet.

Probably the biggest tragedy in the subprime fiasco is the fact that the mainstream media has offered very little coverage of the millions upon millions of families and individuals who lost their homes and their trust in “the money system”.

Even if the write-downs are huge for the banks, the real drama happens at street level, with ordinary American citizens just trying to build up their dream, usually through a nice house where they could raise their family.

The subprime mess is a grim reminder of the importance of placing true value on top of any purchase decision’s criterias, especially when “losing everything” isn’t an option.

You may want to revisit this post in a year from now and compare the numbers to see who lost the most in this subprime financial storm.

Tags: subprime, cdo, mortgages, loans, money, banks, rates, finance

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Wether you’re a sports fan or not, you’re most likely aware that some professional sports franchises are worth a bundle.

The revenue streams for these sports franchises are numerous, such as ticket sales, stadium amenities (memorabilia stores, food sales, parking and such), branded merchandise and royalties (namely TV and radio).

Since so many sports franchises have been going on strong for decades, their market value is rocketing to new heights — here’s a short rundown of today’s most valuable pro sports franchises, in the world:

• Manchester United - An American, named Malcom Glazer, bought the famous European soccer team for a whopping 1.45 billion dollars, in 2005.
• Chicago Cubs - They could sell for 1 billion dollars, allegedly to real estate king Sam Zell. Considering the Tribune Co. bought it for 21 million dollars, back in 1981, it’s a -very- good selling price.
• Washington Redskins - In 1999, Dan Snyder (and his 800 million dollars) steped in when ex-owner Jack Kent Cooke died.
• Boston Red Sox - There was a nasty bidding war, back in 2002 and John Henry won it for 700 million dollars, which turned out to be an awesome deal since the baseball club won the World Series two short years after that.
• Cleveland Browns - For a mere 530 million dollars, Al Lerner bought the football club as an “expansion team”, in 1998.

None of those pro sports team owners are complaining about their bottom line since those franchises are so profitable.

It always brings a smile to my face when I see so much money being dealt for games where adults are paid to run after balls in front of crowds.

Now, having seen these numbers -and- keeping an eye on things to come, your bet is as good as mine as to which teams will turn out to be the next financial home runs, touchdowns and flying kick goals.

Whoever figures that out could reap billions of dollars along the way.

Tags: pro sports, franchises, baseball, football, soccer, tickets, stadiums, revenues

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There no doubt that information technology has positively reshaped the way people deal with their favorite airlines.

Online ticket purchases, personalized customer service and fidelity privileges are some of the most popular, and useful, features that airlines can offer to their clients.

Of course, all this finely orchestrated technological cloud can have a profoundly disturbing effect on the airplane flights themselves, in the event it fails —which it shouldn’t, in theory.

This past June (2007), United Airlines canceled or delayed 300 of its trips when their flight operations computer system went down. The airline was initially baffled as to the cause but according to the Chicago Sun-Times, it was revealed that an employee made an error during a routine system testing. Oups!

So that’s how any computer “expert” can ground 300 airplanes with one -wrong- click… or keystroke.

This is yet another reminder that IT is everywhere in our largely wired world and when one computer system goes down, whatever the reason, a lot of “real world” consequences can impact people’s lives.

Tags: airplanes, computer crash, united airlines, technology, it

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