Adapting Security to New Technologies

Security administrators would prefer it if people would stop coming up with new technologies. Organizations were just getting a handle on general network security and email, then instant messaging got mixed in there. As soon as they figured out how to protect and manage instant messaging USB flash drives and portable storage became an issue. Its always something and it seems that things are never 'stable' long enough for security administrators to come up for air and take a vacation in good conscience.

As this Computerworld article points out though, the solution is not to delay implementing the new technologies or to attempt to modify the functionality of the new technologies to fit into the existing security model. The article focuses on unified communications and the issues presented by merging voice and data communications.

Unified communications delivers a number of benefits and cost savings for organizations. Even in the rough climate of a declining economy many organizations are increasing budgets and moving forward with unified communications implementations because of all it represents in terms of providing the organization with the tools they need to forge a successful future. Those benefits can't be realized though by handicapping the technology to fit the existing security model.

Companies should embrace new technologies like unified communications, but be aware of the evolving security concerns and take steps to address them. Take the time to assess the impact that new technologies have on security policies. Make sure that you understand the functionality of the tools you are using and configure the environment to maximize the inherent security featurs. Conduct security audits and penetration tests to validate security.