Cyber Monday 2008 has arrived. You know, that Monday after Black Friday which comes the day after Thanksgiving. So why should Chief Security Officers (CSOs) care? Here's a primer for the rookie CSO.
First things first - If you work at a large organization like the State of Michigan (with over 55,000 employees), get ready for the press calls. Our Public Information Officer (PIO) handles most of these for the Michigan Department of Information Technology, and he always does a great job. We've built a list of of questions and answers over the years, but occasionally I get interviewed. About five years ago, we didn't have a Cyber Monday Q/A list, and we had to scramble.
Typically, we get several questions like: What is your Acceptable Use policy? (Answer: Visit www.Michigan.gov/pcpolicy )
Are employees allowed to buy Christmas presents at work? (Answer: See the policy. State government computers are for business use.)
Do some employees violate the policy? (Answer: Yes, and disciplinary steps are taken at human resource's discretion.)
Do you have web filters? (Answer - Yes).
Do you block all shopping sites? (Answer - No, many are used for state business.)
Are we seeing an increase in web traffic on Cyber Monday? (Typically not much increase, if any.)
Where are people going online? There are thousands of websites that citizens and state employees visit everyday. Many visit www.Michigan.gov for excellent government information.
Is buying presents online safe? (Answer: If citizens take the proper precautions, buying presents online is generally safe. Credit card companies typically assume risk of fraud. Visit: www.michigan.gov/cybersecurity for more information and free training. )
Sometimes we get technology magazines with more thought-provoking questions that require CSOs to do a bit of homework. Questions like: What new technology innovations do you see under the Christmas tree this year? Will these geek gadgets show up at work? What are you buying for your family?
There are dozens of other angles on Cyber Monday, and new issues come up every year. Sometimes I even get asked about the best technology deals, prices and trends. I typically refer them to articles online such as this one from Boston.com. Here's an excerpt: "An estimated 83.7 percent of online retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday, up from 72.2 percent last year."
One more thing that may help. Use this opportunity to train staff to not fall for phishing scams or holiday greeting card tricks. There are plenty of websites to help is this project, and staff are interested.
This is also a great time to send reminders to staff that show the security office is proactive and trying to help employees enable the good and disable the bad online.
Happy Shopping - On your home computer that is ...
