Enterprise Resource Planning - Algro :: Innovative IT and Business Solutions ::

Data Security (also known as “Information Security”)

It seems that every month, another data breach occurs and our private information is no longer private. We are now exposed to potential identify theft, credit cards being sold on the dark web and our credit rating in chaos. Some people feel vulnerable sharing personal data with companies while other groups like millennials voluntarily open their entire digital life. Data has been monetized so effectively, it’s the new gold. As a company who stores personal data about others with whom you do business, data breaches are always on the mind of company leaders. How do we make sure we don’t end up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal? How do we earn the faith of our customers that they can trust us with their data?

Companies spend millions of dollars each year to become and stay compliant with various regulations such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley and providing attestation of compliance for PCI and SSAE 16. They have employees who spend hours combing through reports and various software packages putting together data to support compliance. It’s a never-ending task and you are still not fully assured that the data is secure.

Algro takes a different approach to the data security strategy. Instead of putting controls in place to meet specific privacy regulations and security standards, we support an approach of overall data security. It sounds simple but, takes a lot of planning, work and culture shifts to be successful. However, by taking this approach, the company can be compliant with most all regulations and spend much less money and time on data security. Some nuances may still be needed on how to establish your security practice for regulations like PCI which are more prescriptive on how security is to be administered. Basically, regulations and compliance standards are various perspective of data security.

One key component of a strong data security approach is to have a “culture” of data security. What does that mean? Data security should not be approached as an IT event. It is incumbent upon every employee to think like a security person; it should be part of the company culture, in its DNA. If employees perform their jobs with security as another standard process, the data they manage day to day will be secure. Therefore, core business processes need to be assessed for how data in these processes are handled and stored and retooled to have security integrated into those processes, not an afterthought control.

Algro can help you with your data security strategy by providing executive expertise on your security approach. Teresa Cheek has joined our organization to provide the executive Expert Connect for data security programs.

Teresa Cheek, Business Development Advisor

Teresa is a proven leader with over 30 years of diverse experience in technology, business operations and analytics as well as starting a small business with her husband in Memphis, TN. In May, Teresa joined Algro as a Business Development Advisor and is leading our Expert Connect program. She had led ERP, Data Security and Business Analytics projects for several large, global companies as well as a public sector entity and a core team member on five other ERP initiatives. Teresa has served in roles as CIO, Executive Director of Business Operations, Managing Director of IT Enterprise Initiative, and VP Enterprise Data Management. In these roles, Teresa directed the technology portion of the company’s strategic initiatives, including transformational, new revenue opportunities, and business analytics.

Teresa earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from Eastern Kentucky University, a database management and design graduate degree certificate from Wright State University, and the Six Sigma Green Belt certification.