Protecting Data Becomes Top Security Priority for IT

In a recent articlem titled Protecting Data Becomes Top Security Priority for IT on November 13, 2006 in ComputerWorld magazine, looks at issues of personal information and nonpublic information that is already in a system. This information needs to be secure because right now organizations are so worried about information coming into the system with firewalls and such that blocks viruses or information that does not need to be in the system out of the system. The information that is in a system needs to be secure which would have, like stated in the article where John Ceraolo (2006) was quoted as saying, "...an increased focus within IT on security measures such as data classification and encryption, end-user access and authentication, and usage monitoring and auditing... (64)." Ceraolo, director of information security at JM Family Enterprises, Inc. talks about the importance of securing the information that is in a system. As I got through everything that I learned through IT class at GSPIA this has been one of those articles that I have seen some of the things that we have learned in our labs in the real world. Patrick Howard, CISO at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (2006), stated in the article that the organization as a whole, "...pulled back the sheet and discovered that there is a lot to do [to protect personal data] (64)." There is a lot of work ahead for some organizations as they try to make sure that everyone's information is protected. The increased technology helps these organizations gain the security they are looking for. Keeping stronger locks on information allows the users that need to see the information able to unclock the code, but it also protects the information from people who do not need to see the information. Information technology is an important part of many organizations and also allows them to learn and experiment with newer ideas, like encrypting and encoding information to secure it from unauthorized users.