7:00 AM
Paul B
My good friend and mentor (Basically the guy who taught me everything I know about Linux) , Craig MacKinder, recently wrote a book! It is called Security and Privacy in an It World: Managing and Meeting Online Regulatory Compliance in the 21st Century.MacKinder is the owner of Blueshift Information Systems Inc, has been in the IT industry for over twenty years, and he's probably forgotten more about the business than I may ever know. When he told me that he wrote a book, I was pretty excited about it!
Here is a description of the book from Amazon:
Regulatory compliance has historically been a concern of only a company's legal and finance departments. However, as e-commerce continues to dominate retail both in the United States and abroad, regulatory compliance is now a major area of concern for IT managers, everyone on executive teams, and entire boards of directors.
Amid a recoiling global marketplace and bigger and more costly cyberattacks, the nexus of "what can our networks do" versus "what are our networks allowed to do" is ever more complex. New privacy regulations coming from some of the closest allies of the United States are increasing the need for all companies doing business online to understand and abide by regulations that are in constant flux.
On top of these concerns, the U.S. government itself is in a rocky place with domestic politics threatening to stand in the way of business as usual for American companies. How will CEOs navigate this minefield centered around Internet freedom? It will require boardrooms and network managers to focus in partnership on meeting new privacy mandates while also keeping networks safe from cyberattacks and data theft.MacKinder sent me a copy of the book shortly after it published, and I have to say that I really like it.
It's not a terribly big book, and you can easily read through it in a week or so. It's also written in a manner that is not super technical, and helps give you an easy to follow understanding of the security threats businesses face, as well as the regulatory requirements businesses must adhere to in order to protect client and business data.
It also discusses the politics of IT security and government regulations, and how it impacts global trade and e-commerce. There is also good information about dealing with complex and conflicting Internet regulations.
Overall, I highly recommend this book for IT managers, executives, and board members!
If you are having a hard time getting someone on the executive team to understand the security and regulatory compliance challenges you face as an IT professional, you might consider buying a few copies for them and hand them out as gifts!
