Layered, Effective Defense of Private Data Still Missing

Despite widespread awareness in the IT industry of the importance of information security, companies are failing in their efforts. Private customer data is poorly protected. Strong Identity Management solutions are needed.

(PRWEB) March 23, 2005

"Despite widespread awareness in the IT industry of the importance of information security, companies are failing in their efforts. Private customer data is poorly protected. They’re failing their customers and their shareholders." says Lee Clemmer, President of The Fulcrum Group.

Simply purchasing all the components and installing them won’t remove the risks. Management believes “our systems are patched and we have a firewall, so we’ve done what we need to do.” Administrators, engineers, and developers may individually know the strengths and weaknesses of the environment. Unfortunately, business demands and time constraints often limit their ability to work together with business & sales management.

One key to improving private data security is effective identity management. When identity management is truly integrated across an entire enterprise, it strengthens all the associated security components. New technologies provide better examination of the ‘who, how, and what” of user identities and data access—but if the components aren’t integrated effectively, companies think they’ve mitigated a risk when in fact they’ve just masked the level of risk. Ideally all applications and systems will all have a unified “concept” of user identity. If this is achieved, it makes comprehensive security possible.

Otherwise, effort is duplicated, complexity is increased, and authentication and authorization efforts are fragmented. The recent problems experienced by ChoicePoint, T-Mobile, LexisNexis, Disney, and others underscore the magnitude of these risks.

We believe that while Identity Management is a hot topic currently in the industry, its relevance to defense-in-depth and layered security is being overlooked by IT Security staff and managers. The Fulcrum Group is now partnering with best-of-breed providers of Identity Management solutions. We are also extending our existing partnership with Logic Trends to provide the development expertise & experience needed by our clients.

For additional information, contact Lee Clemmer at 888-874-3707, or e-mail lclemmer@afulcrum.com.

About The Fulcrum Group

The Fulcrum Group is an IT consulting firm dedicated to providing excellent information architecture & information security services. President Lee Clemmer has been in the IT field for over a decade. In addition to Identity Management, the company focuses on information systems design & re-engineering, security audits & assessments, Microsoft Windows, Linux & Unix integration, and Single Sign On (SSO) solutions.

The Fulcrum Group is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

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