Opinion

Cyberattacks a Sarbanes-Oxley Issue?

Kevin Coleman of Technolytics Institute says cyberattack concerns are starting to appear in SEC filings.

Historically we have only seen a few high-tech companies identify cyber-attack as a risk. Given that Respironics' business is not related to information technology or the Internet, it clearly indicates the growing business concerns surrounding the threat of cyber attacks.

All this said, given the media attention to this emerging threat, it would be difficult to defend against claims of negligence if a business experienced a cyber attack that had significant financial implications. Corporate governance today requires effective internal controls, and it depends on the integrity of information within the organization, as well as the identification and management of risks that could potentially impact financial performance.  Today more than ever, an organization's reputation, brand image and financial results all depend on the integrity and availability of its computer systems.

It's up to business and security executives to answer the question, How would our company operate without the Internet for one hour, one day or one week? The response of one corporate executive I talked to who asked not to be identified was pretty frank: "I don't want to even think about the disruption and financial implication of the Internet going away for a day." What about you? ##

Kevin G. Coleman is a fifteen year veteran of the computer industry. A Kellogg School of Management Executive Scholar, he was the former Chief strategist of Netscape. Now he is a Senior Fellow and International Strategic Management Consultant with the Technolytics Institute  an executive think-tank. For six years he served on the Science and Technology advisory board for the Johns Hopkins University - Applied Physics Lab, one of the leading research institutions in the United States and served for four years on the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centers Limbaugh Entrepreneurial Centers Advisory Board. He has published over sixty articles covering security and defense related matters including UnRestricted Warfare and Cyber Warfare & Weapons. In addition he has testified before the U.S. Congress on Cyber Security and is a regular speaker at security industry events and the Global Intelligence Summit.

• Email
• Print
• Comments
• Digg This
• SlashDot