[ISN] The Battle to Protect Confidential Data

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-10-02/the-battle-to-protect-confidential-data

By Verne Kopytoff
BusinessWeek
October 02, 2012

Countries with nuclear aspirations would love to get their hands on 
Silicon Graphics International’s (SGI) supercomputer technology, says 
Franz Aman, the company’s chief marketing officer.

There are export controls to block a sale of such information, of 
course. But, Aman says, product designs, financial information, and 
communications with customers are all valuable to someone. A determined 
rogue state could always try to steal designs by hacking into SGI’s 
network.

Keeping trade secrets from falling into the wrong hands is therefore a 
big focus for SGI, which also makes servers. The company uses an array 
of technology to help do the job, but also resists the temptation of 
tightening the security screws so much that it undermines productivity. 
“I could build the most secure network in the world and no one would be 
able to do their work,” says Dominic Martinelli, SGI’s chief information 
officer. “So you have to strike a balance.”

Many corporate networks simply aren’t secure enough. Thieves routinely 
infiltrate them on behalf of unscrupulous businesses, foreign 
governments, and as part of activist groups seeking to embarrass a 
company. Last year, for example, foreign hackers stole 24,000 documents 
related to a weapons system under development by a U.S. defense 
contractor, according to the Department of Defense. In another case, an 
individual traced to China stole confidential information from 29 
chemical companies and 19 other firms, according to Symantec (SYMC), the 
computer security company. Meanwhile, hackers affiliated with the group 
Anonymous copied sensitive documents from HBGary, a computer security 
company, and then posted them online.

[...]


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