Former U.S. cyber security czar Richard Clarke on current security threats

Application Security, Inc. hosted an invitation-only seminar for CXO-level IT security professionals featuring key perspectives from industry experts, Richard Clarke, Chairman of Good Harbor Consulting, LLC and former presidential advisor for cyber security and counterterrorism, and Neil MacDonald, Vice President and Distinguished Analyst from Gartner, Inc.

Featured speaker Richard Clarke, the internationally recognized expert on security – including homeland security, national security, cyber security, and counterterrorism – shared his views on IT security threats faced by Fortune 500 companies today and new threats on the horizon. Among Mr. Clarke’s key observations were:

Today’s IT security threats are increasingly focused on stealing valuable data. In this environment, relying on outdated measures like focusing exclusively on perimeter security is insufficient.

Corporations vastly underrate the value of data within the enterprise. While much of the media has focused on consumer credit card data and social security numbers, the theft of proprietary company information can be just as damaging. Organizations must begin to recognize the value of sensitive data stored in a corporate database like pricing models, customer billing and payment information, trade secrets, and valuable R&D intellectual property.

The risks from data leakage, cyber terrorism, and industrial espionage are real. To stay ahead of these threats, corporations must act quickly and decisively to know what risks exist within their enterprise; harden their existing IT infrastructure; and monitor against threats in real-time. All of these efforts must include robust protections at the database layer.