 "Secure Your IT, Secure Your Future")
Few would dispute the role of IT in the growth of a company. In today’s age, when having a robust IT infrastructure is indispensable, securing it from potential threats is also among the top priorities of CIOs.
Just a few days ago, the world celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Internet. Ever since its advent, the Internet has evolved into many variations in the form of Intranet, NAS, Virtual Private Network and so on. But so have the threats associated with it, which are capable enough to bring your network to a standstill in a matter of minutes. According to a recent report published by MessageLabs Intelligence, cybercriminals may lead users to download malware with the help of legitimate websites through a complex system of invisible redirects; and this is increasingly being done through the introduction of new domains. In such a scenario, it becomes all the more important to scout for newer solutions to safeguard the IT set-up and be a step ahead of the bad guys.
At the recently-concluded RFID expo at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, more than 200 exhibitors from around the world showcased cutting-edge solutions, which not only help in protecting the IT network but also provide ways to track employee productivity. These solutions have also been employed in various populist e-governance projects like NREGA, e-passport, national UID initiative and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana.
“Intellectual Property Rights are vital to enterprise growth especially when there is tough competition in the market. If you have invested significant amount of manpower and capital in R&D, you wouldn’t want your design plans, blueprints, vital documents etc to be leaked out easily,” said V K Mittal, CEO of Solution Infotech, which provides solutions in the information rights management space that offer the user control over when and who can access protected files. “We are into building power plants and protecting our designs is our primary concern. Hence, we need to control which of our employees and design centres are working on which projects. Providing access control to them is our topmost priority,” said Rajesh Saini, AVP-IT, Reliance Energy.
Fishing of talent by rival companies is a common trend and it can be a scary situation if an employee having access to confidential information suddenly stops reporting to work. A brainchild of IIT Mumbai, FileSecure lets you monitor and control who and when is accessing your documents. Leading branches in Delhi of major finance companies like Reliance Capital, HDFC Bank and the likes have already implemented this solution.
One of the other areas, which has been a major concern for finance companies, has been the tackling of online frauds and identity thefts. “It is vital for financial institutions to instill trust in their customers to carry out online transactions because it is cost-effective for them. Authentication is one way of building this trust,” said Mark Floyd, CEO, SafeNet. Strong authentication enables new business opportunities, protects information and identities and drives compliance by providing strong and secure access to networks, data, applications and Web-based services.
Today, online services including enterprise portals and e-commerce platforms present tremendous business opportunities. Usage of these is only going to increase in the future. “Verifying online identity by the means of digital signatures and carrying them in easy-to-use USB tokens is the new age way of securing your identity,” said Rana Gupta, VP, SafeNet. But what if you lose the USB and what are its chances of being misused? “Minimal actually as it is password protected,” says Gupta.
Several banks have accommodated second-factor authentication after a recent RBI guideline via the means of a One Time Password generator. But we are still to see this technology being used in other forms of authentication. “Technology, just for the sake of it, is not going to solve anyone’s problem. Ideas are what will make it more relevant. For example, OTP can also be used to give employees access to work bays where unauthorised access is dealt with zero tolerance such as in BPOs,” said Mittal.
Identec Solutions, another player in the security space, offers the WatcherSeries software mainly targeted at companies in the Oil and Gas, power, mining and construction space, where risk to life is at an all-time high and employee safety is of primary concern. An RFID-based solution, it is typically worn by personnel, mounted on vehicles or on special equipment, the device can then be tracked on a 3D map. The WatcherSYSTEM includes open standard interfaces, which enable integration with existing in-house or third-party applications [CCTV systems] and with TCP/ IP or WLAN networks. “This information can be used for anti-collision, trespassing, rescue and relief operations, access control, confirmation of changed shifts, logistics and much more,” said a representative from Identec solutions.
Threat to employee security, IT infrastructure, customer identity and valuable data is high, but the right steps taken in the right direction can safe guard enterprise assets and fuel growth.