IT Security
Just a quick hit on this Intel-sponsored survey: apparently, employers think millenials like me are good employees, but that we're a risk when it comes to IT security. (Believe me, the intersection between millenials and IT prompted me to title this post LOLCats style: IT SECURITY: UR DOIN IT RONG). I think this speaks to evolving norms of security and privacy. I would be that a lot of employers' perceptions are based on the fact that people my age post a lot of stuff on facebook, have, or had, personal blogs, etc. But I think that's not actually super-relevant for professional IT security. Just because people put stuff out there doesn't mean they don't care about information being secure; rather, their standards for what NEEDS to be secure are different. Just because Paris Hilton got her sidekick hacked doesn't mean she's careless with her information; it means the hardware she's using is vulnerable. In a world of telework, among other things, agencies are going to have to come up with new, goof-proof ways to keep information secure. But a more open, tech-savvy generation isn't inherently an IT security risk.
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Yeah, Tom, that's the ticket. Millenial-proof hardware will do the job!
Andy Boots Posted Thursday, December 11, 2008 8:30 AMIf Alyssa's attitude reflects that of the millenials in general, I think we're in trouble. Agencies have to make security "goof-proof" so that millenials with different "standards for what NEEDS to be secure" can just do their own thing? No, security is still a shared responsibility, as it always has been, and it still requires understanding and acceptance of shared standards, as well as a high level of personal accountability, even for the Now Generation.
James Reeves Posted Thursday, December 11, 2008 9:07 AMI suspect Mr. Reeves misinterpreted Alyssa's message. She didn't state that millenials want to "do their own thing" (Now, that's a good 60's phrase!)with respect to agencies' IT security. She postulated that IT security strategies and techniques need to evolve with technology and our culture. Right on!
Outsider Posted Thursday, December 11, 2008 10:56 AMI agree that we need increasingly more "goof-proof" technology for IT users. However, the technologies offered by social networking sites are rarely the problem. Rather, the issue is poor decision making by folks entrusted with sensitive information using these sites. These risks are fundamentally non-technical and cannot be engineered into compliance. It point is that the risk is not understood by users, & that makes a security incident more likely to occur.
US Posted Thursday, December 11, 2008 11:08 AMEvery ten years, or so it seems, IT departments worry about the next generation. Each time, the basic complaint is the same: X group of people will expose their personal data or corporate secrets through the use of Y technology. In the 80s it was giving employees personal computers, and in the 90s it was email. Each time the benefits of the technologies far outweighed the potential security pitfalls, and eventually everyone learned how to use them without exposing information. I think the same thing is happening in this survey, and I cannot wait to see what the next 'problem' turns out to be for IT ten years from now.
Brett Hummel Posted Friday, December 19, 2008 2:43 AM