Data Center Security Breaches Are No Laughing Matter

Businesses run on information technology. Even though companies have been keen on adopting as many advanced solutions as they can over the course of 2013, there is one thing that they seem to still be resisting: IT security.For some reason, a number of chief information officers and other IT professionals appear to be taking data protection lightly, despite being serious about everything else their jobs entail. However, this aversion to having staff members become certified in proper data protection protocol could prove detrimental in the coming years, as CIOs continue to implement more solutions into their companies’ operations. IT executives should come to realize that the more confidential information and essential functions being stored and controlled by tech tools, the more critical it will become to take measures to ensure that everything is safe and secure.According to InformationWeek, data security seems to have been the laughing stock of the IT community this past year. In particular, many tech professionals have found the notion of undergoing specific certification in information protection to be a joke.Why certifications get a bad wrapWhat exactly is CIOs’ beef with the thought of completing training in data defense? Well, they see little significance in obtaining certifications of this nature. Everything from CISSP to CompTIA Security+ do not mean a thing in the real time workings of an IT department – or so some tech executives think.It is not to say that IT professionals fail to see every shred of importance in securing information kept on certain solutions. If that were the case, these staff members would be doing their businesses and even their field a disservice. Instead, they do recognize the necessity of data defense, but they do not consider certifications to serve as any real purpose.The news source explained that some tech workers think that completing these programs is not an indication of how well certificate recipients can actually prevent information from being pilfered by cyberthieves. In their opinion, these pieces of paper simply prove that professionals going through data protection training were able to pass a test. When push comes to shove, a number of CIOs maintain that these certified employees may not be of assistance in securing their data centers.Certifications serve as benchmark for security competenceAlthough that may be some IT professionals’ take on information protection certifications, that is not necessarily the case, and other CIOs believe that there is much worth in these programs. InformationWeek stated that even though certificates do not serve as the be-all and end-all sign that an employee is competent in tech security, they can act as relatively fair benchmarks of how skilled staff members may be in terms of implementing data center safeguarding.Certifications are especially useful if CIOs are looking to build up their IT teams with candidates who are capable of designing and implementing data security measures. There is really no surefire way to tell if prospects have had success in directly preventing data from getting in the hands of hackers. Instead, CIOs only know when departments as a whole have managed to collectively thwart any cybertheft attempts. Consequently, certifications earned by individuals are the only true way that IT executives can guarantee that job applicants and prospective staff members have some sort of competency when it comes to dealing with data security.CIOs beef up IT departments to mitigate growing threatsThis assurance is becoming rapidly more essential as the risk of cybersecurity breaches grows. Computer Weekly explained that the more CIOs deny the need for extensive data protection procedures, the more frequent and detrimental hacker attacks may be. Cybertheft threats are expanding – not only in terms of the types of breaches that can occur, but also when it comes to the severity of the consequences stemming from these instances.The news cited numerous examples of the kinds of attacks that are currently afflicting IT departments everywhere. One of the fastest growing risks that CIOs need to watch out for is digitally signed malware. Because this type of malware is signed with authentic digital certificates obtained from certificate authorities or subcontractors, it is able to sneak past whitelisting and sandboxing security measures without being detected. To combat this form of breach, IT professionals have to take extra precautions to incorporate as many intricate defense mechanisms into their data centers to eliminate the likelihood of malware making its way to their companies’ confidential information.