Compliance Management

When Sara Lee Corporation began its initiative to comply with payment card industry (PCI) data security standards (DSS) two years ago, its security experts had a lot of questions about the requirements. According to Maurice Hampton, senior manager of information security architecture for the company, Sara Lee had to jump through a lot of hoops before it could even get a clear picture of what it would take to comply.

Feds: Improve security Federal agencies worked against an August deadline to implement improved security controls designed to better protect the private information of U.S. citizens in the hands of government officials. A memo on the sweeping changes was sent out in late June by the White House's Office of Management and Budget. OMB said it will work with inspectors to ensure agencies are in compliance. "We intend to work with the general community to review these items to ensure we are properly safeguarding the information the American taxpayer has entrusted to us," OMB Deputy Director Clay Johnson III said in a memo.

As we are all aware, there has been a rash of reported privacy breaches recently. This likely is because not only is our enterprise data more transient and mobile, but we are having increasing difficulty controlling where that data goes and what controls, if any, go with that data. And that assumes that we actually know where our data is, and who is doing what with it. The sad truth: information security professionals often do not know the location of their enterprises' data.

The SC Forum 2006 is an exclusive two-day networking event that takes attendees out of the office and away from distraction.

Security remains a key growth area for venture capital investment and shows no sign of slowing down. Although the IPO market may be weak (as it is for nearly all categories of venture investment), mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are on the rise. And many new security companies are being created. Think about these compelling statistics:

Most large corporations are not sure whether they're in line with federal regulations and some are not taking adequate steps to address compliance regulations, according to a survey released this week.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has issued a "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) document as the end-of-year deadline approaches for financial institutions to implement measures toward stronger customer authentication.