The Double-edged Sword of Technology and Security
By Pedro Pereira
August 8, 2005
Technology
and crime are uneasy partners. As hackers, crackers and sundry cyber
attackers prove almost daily, turning technology into a tool of crime
is a simple proposition.
"Technology
breeds crime. It always has, it always will," said Frank Abagnale, the
con-artist-turned-FBI-associate whose exploits were depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster "Catch Me If You Can."
Abagnale
spoke to VARs, integrators and vendors on the closing day of IT trade
association CompTIA's Breakaway conference last week in Las Vegas.
Forty
years ago Abagnale, who has become very popular on the lecture circuit,
used rudimentary methods to dupe airlines and banks into thinking he
was a pilot so he could fly for free and cash fake checks.
With
today's technology, he said, he would be able to counterfeit
identification cards and checks much more convincingly. But Abagnale,
now a 30-year veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said
technology is also an effective tool used daily to fight crime.
With
the rapid-fire delivery with which he delivered the account of his
astounding life, Abagnale held the group of gathered IT professionals
spellbound.
He even caused some misty eyes as he wrapped up his speech talking about the importance of family and spousal fidelity.
He was a tough act to follow.
And guess who had the very privilege of following him on stage? Yours truly.
I moderated a panel on security that wrapped up the four-day event.
Luckily,
I had help from five of the IT channel's top security experts, who
provided an insightful exchange on how the channel can seize the
security opportunity.
The
panelists were Patrick Hinojosa, chief technology officer of Panda
Software; Gerard Kane, regional vice president of business development
for Perimeter Internetworking; Scott Lupfer, senior director, Security
Evangelists at McAfee Inc.; Chris Riopelle, U.S. director of sales at Interwork Technologies Inc.; and Bryant Tow, director of managed security services for North America at Unisys Corp.
These
experts, who live and breathe security day in and day out, confirmed
what I have been reporting in news stories and advocating in this very
column.
Security
technology and services, they said, are a tremendous opportunity for
the channel, one that every VAR integrator and service provider should
be thinking about.
Small
and midsize businesses, a market in which channel companies have more
traction than anyone else, often are oblivious to the risks, much less
protecting themselves.
"Most
people don't realize the risk they face," said Kane, comparing failure
to protect data to leaving your doors open. "If you don't think there's
a big issue, you don't lock the doors at night."
VARs
and integrators not only have an opportunity in security, but they also
have the responsibility to educate their customers on security risks.
Merely telling them they are at risk is not enough. For that, Lupfer
joked, we have insurance agents.
To succeed in security services, VARs and integrators must create a methodology they follow consistently.
And when tackling the security needs of customers, they must demonstrate how they will provide value, Lupfer said.
Channel
companies, in the role of trusted advisers to small businesses, must
not only assess the risks their customers face but also become intimate
with their technology needs and business goals so they can deliver the
most effective security solutions possible.
Find
out where the customer is from a business standpoint and where the
customer is likely to be in 12 to 18 months. Resist the temptation to
sell customers technology just for its sake, because "it's cool," and
instead drill down to their specific needs.
In
other words, VARs, integrators and service providers must solve the
customer's business problem when delivering security solutions. Merely
providing technology is not enough.
But
first, the channel must be sure to take on the educator role that Kane
talked about. VARs, integrators and service providers must advise
customers that indeed, technology breeds crime. But it is also the most
effective tool to guard against it.
Pedro
Pereira is a contributing editor for The Channel Insider. He covered
the channel from 1996 to 2001, took a break, and now he's back. He can
be reached at ppereira@ziffdavis.com.
