You can’t secure what you can’t see

My short essay, “You can’t secure what you can’t see,” was published in the 2019/2020 edition of Commerce Trends, from Manhattan Associates (page 18). The essay begins with,

When your company’s name appears in the press, the story should be about your fantastic third-quarter earnings, improved year-on-year same-store results, and the efficiency of your supply chain. You never, never, never want to see a news story about a huge data breach that exposes private, GDPR-regulated information about your employees – or your customers.

Yet such breaches happen far too often, as we all can see by reading our favorite newspaper or website. What can you do to prevent this? The first step is to know what you have in terms of data, systems, applications, users – and third-party actors like suppliers, customers, partners, consultants, and contractors.

This can be particularly complicated in retail, because of the complexity of managing stores and e-commerce, as well as a v-e-r-y long supply chain with complicated logistics. However, there are no excuses. Every company needs to keep your confidential data out of the hands of competitors, while assuring customers and partners that you are safe to do business with.

Please download the magazine, read my story, and share your thoughts.