The Three Unbreakable Rules of Business Technology

Introduction

Like it or not, technology in business has become one of the driving factors behind many companies.

 

It’s no longer a game of who you know, what you sell or your unique selling point. The top-performing companies are using technology to beat out the competition and see year over year growth even during uncertain times.

 

In this article, we’ll discuss why the technology behind your business is so important, and how to help keep your data secure.

 There are three areas that we will cover as part of this topic. By the end, you will have a clear understanding of exactly what technology can do for your company.

IT & Technology Are An Investment, Not A Cost

Many see technology and IT as a cost. Someone has to support all those laptops and desktops your staff use.  There are costs just to maintain those machines, and there’s the additional cost of upgrades, replacements, and repairs.

 

This viewpoint is understandable when it comes to technology and your business. Yes, these are costs, but they will be providing the basic needs your business requires to function. Just like the lights and heating in your office, IT is essential.

 

Where the investment lies is a long-term strategy and view of how technology can help achieve efficiencies and transform fundamental elements of how your business operates.

 

Now bring this question back to your business. What processes currently are you doing manually that could be automated with software & technology?

 

Protect Your Clients & Staff

Cybersecurity is a threat we all have to live with now. Gone are the days of a simple virus that would stop just your computer from working. Cybercriminals are actively holding small and medium businesses for ransom by encrypting their data and asking for money.

 

You will only ever hear about large-scale data breaches, but almost every business is under fire from these types of attacks now. It’s no longer enough to secure the business. You now need to have a recovery plan of what to do when your IT system is hacked and a playbook on how to respond, which we’ve written details about here.

 

If your current IT provider or cybersecurity partner doesn’t have a process or playbook for your most critical business functions that rely on technology, now is the time to act.

 

With a practical response and recovery plan in place, this will give you a competitive advantage and ensure your IT & business systems run smoothly, even when they do get hacked, which is only a matter of time.

 

The is no longer if you get hacked, but when

 

Secure Your Data

Finally, we come to the most powerful element to business technology, and that is having an awareness of the data that you are knowingly or unknowingly collecting that you can leverage to transform your business.

 

All of the IT and technology systems that you run in your business collect data.  A good example of this is the social media giant Facebook. It collects data on all user interactions to build up a vast dataset that can be used by its advertisers to target their ideal customers. Facebook has taken steps to leverage this data in many ways, including machine learning algorithms that predict customers based on past actions.

 

It’s safe to assume that you don’t have the same resources as some of these technology giants; however, they have provided tools for small and medium-sized businesses to make use of the data in their business intelligently to drive digital transformation in a solution like the Microsoft Azure Cloud. And with the help of a cybersecurity partner, you can ensure this data isn’t only leveraged by your business, but safe from ending up in the wrong hands.

 

It’s time for your business to take action on these new ways of working with technology. We would love to explore the opportunities you have with all elements outlined above and look forward to speaking with you.  

 

Get in touch with us

Secutor Cybersecurity is a trusted partner comprised of industry leading experts in the fields of Cybersecurity and Governance, Risk and Compliance. We partner with our clients to deliver on-demand solutions tailored to expertly navigate the regulatory demands of their specific industries.

Our proven track record of successfully exceeding client expectations is achieved through the combination of our methodical approach, advanced technologies, subject matter experts, and synergy with client team members.

Secutor is your team of world-class problem solvers with vast expertise and experience delivering complete solutions keeping your organization protected, audit-ready, and running smoothly.

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Jason Fruge

Consulting Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

Jason Fruge is an accomplished Consulting Chief Information Security Officer at Secutor Cybersecurity, bringing over 25 years of deep expertise in information security. His storied career includes leading and managing robust security programs for Fortune 500 companies across retail, banking, and fintech sectors. His current role involves providing strategic guidance and advisory services to clients, focusing on security governance, risk management, and compliance.

Apart from his consulting responsibilities, Jason is an active member of the global cybersecurity community. He is a Villager at Team8, a prestigious collective of senior cybersecurity executives and thought leaders. Additionally, he serves as an Advisor at NightDragon, an innovative growth and venture capital firm specializing in cybersecurity and enterprise technologies.

Jason’s tenure as a CISO is marked by a proven track record in developing and implementing comprehensive security policies and procedures. He adeptly leverages security frameworks and industry best practices to mitigate risks, safeguarding sensitive data and assets. His expertise encompasses incident response and root cause analysis, where he has notably managed cyber incidents to prevent breaches and minimize business disruption and customer impact.

A key aspect of Jason’s role has been the creation and facilitation of executive and board-level cyber risk committees, ensuring organizational alignment and awareness. His responsibilities have extended to maintaining compliance programs for standards such as PCI and SOX, as well as leading privacy and business continuity programs. Holding prestigious certifications like CISSP, QSA, and QTE, Jason is also a recognized thought leader, contributing articles on cybersecurity to InformationWeek.

Jason’s passion lies in driving innovation and fostering collaboration in the cybersecurity field. He is currently seeking an executive CISO role in a leading retail, finance, or fintech organization, where he can continue to make significant contributions to the cybersecurity landscape.

Jennifer Bayuk

Cybersecurity Risk Management Expert

Jennifer Bayuk is a highly esteemed cybersecurity risk management thought leader and subject matter expert at Secutor Cybersecurity. Her extensive experience encompasses managing and measuring large-scale cybersecurity programs, system security architecture, and a wide array of cybersecurity tools and techniques. Jennifer’s expertise is further deepened with her proficiency in cybersecurity forensics, the audit of information systems and networks, and technology control processes.

Jennifer’s skill set is comprehensive, including specialization in cybersecurity risk and performance indicators, technology risk awareness education, risk management training curriculum, and system security research. Her academic achievements are noteworthy, holding Masters degrees in Philosophy and Computer Science, and a Ph.D. in Systems Engineering. This strong academic background provides a solid foundation for her practical and strategic approach to cybersecurity challenges.

Certified in Information Systems Audit, Information Systems Security, Information Security Management, and IT Governance, Jennifer is a well-rounded professional in the field. Her credentials are further enhanced by her license as a New Jersey Private Investigator, adding a unique dimension to her cybersecurity expertise.

At Secutor, Jennifer plays a pivotal role in steering cybersecurity initiatives, aligning them with organizational risk appetites and strategic objectives. Her ability to educate and train in the realm of technology risk has been instrumental in raising awareness and enhancing the cybersecurity posture of our clients. Her dedication to research and continual learning makes her an invaluable resource in navigating the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape.

Jennifer Bayuk’s blend of academic prowess, practical experience, and certifications make her an indispensable part of our team, as she continues to drive forward-thinking cybersecurity solutions and risk management strategies.

Steve Blanding

CISO Consultant

CISSP, CISA, CGEIT, CRISC

Steve is an IT management consultant living in Dallas, TX. Steve has over 35 years of experience in executive IT leadership, IT governance, risk and compliance (GRC), systems auditing, quality assurance, information security, and business resumption planning for large corporations in the Big-4 professional services, financial services, manufacturing, retail electronics, and defense contract industries. He has extensive experience with industry best practices for adopting and implementing new technologies, IT service management frameworks, and GRC solutions that have dramatically improved customer satisfaction while reducing cost.

Industry Experience

  • State Government: 5 years
  • Retail: 5 years
  • Defense Contract: 5 years
  • Manufacturing: 2 years
  • Health Care: 2 years
  • Local Government: 2 years
  • Public Accounting (Big 4): 7 years
  • Insurance: 3 years
  • Financial Services: 5 years

Key Career Accomplishments

  • Conducted a full-scale ISO27000 audit 4 times over the past 6 years.  Also, conducted a “light” ISO27000 review of a small Dallas-based company in 2007.
  • Developed and authored a comprehensive IT security policy manual, incident response plans, training programs, security contingency plans and configuration management plans for FedRAMP regulatory compliance.
  • Conducted multiple DR and operational backup and recovery IT risk assessments of critical business systems on mainframe, LAN, and distributed system networks located across North America.
  • Conducted data centers audits for Tyco Corporation (Brussels, 2005 and Denver, 2006), Farmers Insurance (Los Angeles, 2006), Zurich Financial Services (Chicago, Kansas City, and Grand Rapids, 2006), and Convergys Corporation (Dallas, 2010, 2011, and 2012).
  • Led a project to remediate segregation of duties and streamline user access system security and HIPAA compliance administration across 5 regions in North America, resulting in cost savings of $700,000 per year (Kaiser Permanente).
  • Implemented Sarbanes-Oxley Section 302 and 404 IT general and application controls, reducing security administration costs and improving operational performance by 50% or $500,000 annually (Tyco Corporation).
  • Led the global SAP business-IT alignment, process re-design implementation initiative for financial accounting, materials management, production planning, quality management, sales and distribution, warehouse management, and plant maintenance, which resulted in creating $2,000,000 in cost savings.
  • Engaged by Arthur Andersen in Houston to transform the local IT organization and then direct 3 organizational mergers/consolidations, which resulted in a 25% reduction in operating costs, or $3,250,000, while improving customer satisfaction by 30%, and improving employee morale, technology availability and the quality of IT infrastructure and service delivery.
  • Assigned by Arthur Andersen global leadership to lead global project teams responsible for data center and customer support call center consolidation, which resulted in annual operational cost savings of 45% or $4,000,000.
  • Implemented ITIL service management practices for problem management, incident management, help desk, project management, and operations management.
  • Conducted SOX 404 audits at Duke Energy (6 months), Red Hat (3 months), Tyco (9 months), Zeon Chemicals (4 months), and Convergys (2 months). Experience includes control design/documentation and effectiveness testing.

Publications:

Author, various articles in EDPACS and Auerbach’s IT Audit Portfolio Series, 1981 – 2001

Author, various articles in the Handbook of Information Security Management, 1993 – 1995

Editor, Auerbach’s Enterprise Operations Management, 2002

Editor, Auerbach’s IT Audit Portfolio Series, 2000 – 2002

Consulting Editor, Auerbach’s EOM Portfolio Series, 1998 -2001

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