Info Risk Today Podcast

Careers in IT security remain hot, says David Foote, noted researcher and analyst of IT workforce trends. But there's a disconnect between current job opportunities and the talent pool looking to fill them.

The future worth of payments will not rely so much on tangible currency, but more on digital value and data. And that means a stronger need for security and data management.

Facial recognition technology could prove to be an effective way to authenticate individuals seeking entry to secured buildings or databases storing sensitive information. But the biometric technology already is being abused, and IT security managers employing facial recognition should be careful to encrypt the biometric data, cautions a privacy rights leader.

In many states, the top information security officer champions IT security rather than dictates it, as the decisions of specific steps to take to safeguard digital assets are left to departments, agencies and commissions.

Fraud is a global concern, and an area regulators and financial institutions the world-over are watching closely, says Bill Isaac. Whether a cyberthreat or mortgage fraud, investments in fraud prevention will continue, despite the state of the international economy.

ICBA's Chris Lorence says all financial institutions, especially community banks, should appreciate the positive and negative effects posts on social-networking sites can have on their reputations.

Having complete documentation of every aspect of your privacy and security strategy is the best way to prepare for a HIPAA audit, says consultant Cliff Baker.

Former FDIC head Bill Isaac says U.S. banks have strengthened their financial footing since the market collapse of 2008, but the U.S. economy remains on the verge of a "double-dip" recession. The reason: poorly planned regulatory reforms.

Give a man a fish, you feed him for today, the proverb says. Teach a man to fish; and you feed him for a lifetime. That adage can be applied to information security, as well.

As banks and credit unions assess online risk, in light of the updated guidance from the FFIEC, financial fraud analyst Tom Wills says they should consider mobile as a viable layer for out-of-band authentication.

Regulation and legislation are working in banking institutions' favor, helping them enhance fraud prevention and detection investments for debit and online banking.

Healthcare organizations entering cloud computing contracts should carefully consider whether they need additional liability insurance coverage to address the risks involved, says IT consultant Gerard Nussbaum.

Eduardo Perez says, simply, the "time was right" for Visa's introduction of chip-based payments incentives for U.S. merchants. Visa's new mobile-to-EMV program offers PCI-audit-compliance waivers to qualified merchants who implement dual-interface contact and contactless acceptance.

Before negotiating a contract with a cloud computing vendor, organizations should ask plenty of questions about privacy and security, says consultant Chris Witt.

Bob Russo says the long-awaited PCI guidance on tokenization should provide merchants with a baseline for standardization and best practices, and serve as a roadmap for how tokenization can complement compliance with the PCI-DSS.

Eugene Spafford thinks America needs the cybersecurity equivalent of an agriculture extension service to help educate citizens on IT security.

When it comes to social media, organizations have to be vigilant and consistent with risk assessments that closely monitor and evaluate emerging threats, says Andrew Kennedy of BITS.

Yahoo's Justin Somaini believes his fellow CISOs in business and government do a good job keeping their bosses informed of proper information security practices, but could do better in educating the rank and file about them.

Ian Harper of Pentagon Federal Credit Union says financial institutions should continually review their risk management processes, a recommendation reinforced by the new FFIEC Authentication Guidance.

Federal officials should consider a major revamp of a proposal that would require healthcare organizations to provide patients with a report listing everyone who has electronically accessed their records, a former government official who helped draft the proposal says.