When SWOT becomes Strengths, Opportunities, Opportunities and More Opportunities? [Dilbert]

Thursday, September 24th 2009 @ 6:54 AM (not yet rated)    post viewed 2256 times

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When business leaders want to leave a legacy, they seem to be come desperate to find something to provide hope and vision for the team. That's when they start creating a new lexicon of terminology to provide that spark of adventure and mystery. Of course, rational thought starts to become obscured - weaknesses become opportunities and so do threats. So our reliable old management and marketing tool of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) gets redefined, too.

How does this relate to security? Well, it begins to defocus people from being on the lookout for threats and risks to the organization's main objectives, and even the every day risks that we face in our jobs. Then, it just takes one encounter with reality, as in this Dilbert strip to take the vaporize that newly defined strategy . It also tends to foster immediate suspicion among the team for any future brainchild of management.

I once worked in a high tech company that  ran into rough times, and began to have major reorganizations every 6 months, like clockwork - complete with a whole new vocabulary of terms for anything that reminded people of past failures.

Positive energy is a good thing, but it is unlikely to be generated by repeating the mistakes of the past under a newly defined business philosophy; especially one that ignores the real risks your team is facing.  This is even  more true today, where organizations find themselves in the most challenging risk environment we've ever seen in business - a time when information has become a critical asset and threats to this asset can not be ignored or obscured.

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My live security awareness webinars are a quick and affordable way to provide your entire staff with professional quality security awareness training and education - whether it's general training or for specific teams or industries. I offer group rates and can tailor content to your specific needs. Please call or email me at the coordinates below, or CLICK HERE to see my training webinar catalog. Scott Wright The Streetwise Security Coach Join the Streetwise Security Zone at: http://www.streetwise-security-zone.com/join.html Phone: 1-613-693-0997 Email: scott@streetwise-security-zone.com Twitter ID: http://www.twitter.com/streetsec To receive weekly security tips and other notices about helpful content available on this site, please make sure you are on my list by clicking HERE, and entering your name and email address.

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When economic downturns reveal that risk management was lacking [Dilbert]

Sunday, September 20th 2009 @ 9:42 AM (not yet rated)    post viewed 1325 times

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When management makes a series of decisions that reflect a short term view of business reality, you end up with an "unavoidable, and regretfully severe" remedial solution. It's what I call the "Epiphany in Powerpoint".  This happened to me in real life during my final days at a high tech software company. Things had been great the previous year, and money was flowing like cheap wine. I still remember the fateful words of an analyst saying, "there is no way that their revenues and profits support the company's share price". Of course, the "new economy" was grounds to abandon all reasonable financial metrics  in those days. But management could have taken a better risk management position, just to be on the safe side. The resulting downside we had to go through looked phenomenally similar to this Dilbert cartoon. I guess our management thougth the "slide to oblivion" looked kind of fun. For several hundred people a month or two later, it wasn't.

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My live security awareness webinars are a quick and affordable way to provide your entire staff with professional quality security awareness training and education - whether it's general training or for specific teams or industries. I offer group rates and can tailor content to your specific needs. Please call or email me at the coordinates below, or CLICK HERE to see my training webinar catalog. Scott Wright The Streetwise Security Coach Join the Streetwise Security Zone at: http://www.streetwise-security-zone.com/join.html Phone: 1-613-693-0997 Email: scott@streetwise-security-zone.com Twitter ID: http://www.twitter.com/streetsec To receive weekly security tips and other notices about helpful content available on this site, please make sure you are on my list by clicking HERE, and entering your name and email address.

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Why deterring insider attacks through earned loyalty is not enough [Dilbert]

Tuesday, September 8th 2009 @ 6:40 AM (not yet rated)    post viewed 1552 times

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Some managers refuse to acknowledge that insider attacks can happen to them. Maybe they feel that "peer pressure" is enough to discourage and deter anyone who might be tempted to leverage their access privileges for personal gain.

But most organizations can not assume they have earned their employees' loyalty. Once an employee becomes aware that one of their co-workers may have successfully raided the cookie jar, the psychological process of evaluating their own risks begins - will there be rejection among co-workers if they report the incident? What are the hassles of initiating an investigation process and being the focus of attention? etc.

So, like the Pointy Haired Boss, you may start to feel that the team you trusted has organized against you instead of behind you. It's important to set everyone's expectations that management has the right and the obligation to assume that insiders will, at some point, be tempted - and must be made aware of the rules and their consequences. This type of deterrent is usually more effective than assuming that peer pressure and arbitrary gifts or parties will assure loyalty, when it comes to protecting the organization's assets.

 

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My live security awareness webinars are a quick and affordable way to provide your entire staff with professional quality security awareness training and education - whether it's general training or for specific teams or industries. I offer group rates and can tailor content to your specific needs. Please call or email me at the coordinates below, or CLICK HERE to see my training webinar catalog. Scott Wright The Streetwise Security Coach Join the Streetwise Security Zone at: http://www.streetwise-security-zone.com/join.html Phone: 1-613-693-0997 Email: scott@streetwise-security-zone.com Twitter ID: http://www.twitter.com/streetsec To receive weekly security tips and other notices about helpful content available on this site, please make sure you are on my list by clicking HERE, and entering your name and email address.

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