Business Challenges and Solutions:  On the Road to Information Security

Business Challenges: On the Road to Information Security  

NCMS Solutions for Your Company:

Two Levels of Strategic Communication Resources:
1. Mfg.Trust features talk to your employees
2. Corner.Office features address leadership issues

Strategic Education Resources 

Business Challenges: On the Road to Information Security 

The wheels of the American economy are rolling on digital tracks. Business and government are dependent on network infrastructures to manufacture, communicate, and operate, and it's unlikely this trend will change. E-mail correspondence, web-based application services, online collaboration amongst supply chain partners, and other business-to-business use of the Internet will surely increase, as the vision of the "virtual enterprise" becomes reality. 

The Information Paradox 

But the virtual enterprise can be risky business. A somewhat startling paradox has developed in this Information Age: The lasting value of modern companies is in proprietary intellectual property, but that information is housed in network infrastructures vulnerable to security breaches. You are locking the company doors each night, perhaps setting an alarm, but your most valuable assets may be perpetually at risk of exposure, on a scale as grand as the World Wide Web. Too often, network infrastructure security fails to insure the protection of vital information. 

A Tenuous Balance 

Information protection issues don't end when you leave the workplace. Personal privacy protection was an issue well before September 2001, as legislators hammered out laws to regulate online privacy, Internet banking, and access to personal health information. Now more than ever, individuals are aware of personal privacy issues: The suicide hijackings sent a ripple through the social fabric that continues to this day. All of us are in the process of reevaluating the tenuous balance between freedom and security in our lives. 

The Achilles' Heel of E-Business 

An analogous balancing act exists for information management. The greatest virtue of the Internet is its openness. All roads are one. You can get there from here, and quickly. Yet, the greatest flaw of the Internet is its openness. Your vital personal and company data are at risk, only a password or a firewall away from enemy hands. Indeed, the Achilles' heel of cyber-based enterprise is the vast, global reach of cyberspace itself. 

Information security breaches can be both extractive (as when files are stolen) and intrusive (as when a virus infects a network). Cybercrime can harm individuals as well as corporations. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S.-nearly 900,000 Americans are victimized each year. And although most information security focuses on external threats, the perpetrators usually lurk inside the knowledge network. Over 70 percent of information theft originates within the perimeter defenses of a company or the extended enterprise of trusted trading partners. 

Solutions Are in Sight 

<top> These problems are not insurmountable. To help defend critical business infrastructure from attack, NCMS has teamed with the National Infrastructure Protection Center to form the InfraGard Manufacturing Industry Association (IMIA). IMIA's mission is to equip manufacturers and their supply chain partners with communications, education, and collaborative project services. The program's goal is to reach out to individuals and companies in the manufacturing sector, increase their awareness of infrastructure risks and opportunities, and continually educate members in the newest advancements and best practices. 

There is no panacea for information security risks. IMIA advocates a comprehensive industry process, backed by a plan, and implemented by good people. We believe people, process, and technology must work together to succeed in business. We believe physical, operational, and information security must work together holistically to build an effective business program. In our outreach efforts, you will see people and business process issues stressed more than the technology itself, and you will see frequent reminders to develop plans that integrate all facets of security. Personal privacy issues are pertinent, as security-savvy individuals make security-savvy employees. The program also supports individuals with IT and security responsibility, and targets technology providers with solutions and specific knowledge to help protect manufacturers. 

All members of NCMS are invited to participate in IMIA, and have full access to its resources and educational services. The vision of NCMS is to help make North American manufacturers the best in the world. The strength of the collaborative environment is that it brings resources and services to manufacturing companies that do not have the reach of a large company. With over 150 member companies and 15 years' experience in cross-industry and government/industry collaboration, NCMS is the premier provider of collaborative research in North America.

Strategic Communication Resources for Your Company:
Mfg.Trust Features and Web Resources

<top> Our well-regarded monthly awareness and outreach email publication, Mfg.Trust, stresses infrastructure assurance topics that affect our personal lives, as well as our business occupations. We think that aware and educated private citizens are also aware and educated employees! 

Mfg.Trust is provided FREE OF CHARGE to NCMS Alliance Partners and Members so that we can bring this important message to as many people as possible within the manufacturing community. We have chosen an editorial calendar (see Mfg.Trust Publication Index) of topics that we believe will be most effective for our partners. 

Strategic Education Resources for Your Company

<top> At NCMS, we are dedicated to helping manufacturers develop robust systems that assure uninterrupted production, but we find that many people are not aware of the issues, both in their personal and professional lives. At the root of this lack of awareness is the amazing speed with which the Internet has been adopted for business use. Industry leaders are being asked to respond to technological change and adopt new business practices before complete knowledge of these new systems is widespread. 

Flexible, timely training techniques are required to keep up with the pace of change. Fortunately, the NCMS Educational Services Division is prepared, right now, to deliver e-learning solutions to industry. The Internet that is "part of the problem" becomes "part of the solution."

NCMS pioneered distance learning in the early 1990s with research and solutions for manufacturers. In the new millennium, NCMS Educational Services is working hard to develop customized, immediately relevant learning and communication material to manufacturers and industry of all sizes. Our goal is to provide the most targeted, affordable learning and communication tools to NCMS members and customers.

Our content partners represent experts in fields including manufacturing, technology, security, human resources, and more. Online classes are available to all our customers at NCMS Educational Services Training and Education.

NCMS Benefits In Summary

At NCMS, we are dedicated to helping manufacturers develop robust systems that assure uninterrupted production. We assume responsibility to help the many people who are not aware of the issues surrounding the protection of their critical business infrastructure. Our contribution to the solution is to provide awareness and education. We’ll focus as much on personal issues as on business, because both are important. Of course, once we understand these issues in our personal lives, the ideas transfer easily to the workplace. We’ll always offer solutions you can use – not just scare mongering.

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