Vigilance is The Name of The Game...

President George W. Bush logged a victory last night when the U.S. House of Representatives renewed the USA Patriot Act, a law that gave the FBI expanded powers to investigate terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks. Here are a few of the renewed provisions:

_Section 201 _ Gives federal officials the authority to intercept wire, spoken and electronic communications relating to terrorism.

_Section 202 _ Gives federal officials the authority to intercept wire, spoken and electronic communications relating to computer fraud and abuse offenses.

_Subsection 203(b) _ Permits the sharing of grand jury information that involves foreign intelligence or counterintelligence with federal law enforcement, intelligence, protective, immigration, national defense or national security officials

_Subsection 203(d) _ Gives foreign intelligence or counterintelligence officers the ability to share foreign intelligence information obtained as part of a criminal investigation with law enforcement.

_Section 204 _ Makes clear that nothing in the law regarding pen registers _ an electronic device that records all numbers dialed from a particular phone line _ stops the government's ability to obtain foreign intelligence information.

_Section 209 _ Permits the seizure of voicemail messages under a warrant.

_Section 212 _ Permits Internet service providers and other electronic communication and remote computing service providers to hand over records and e-mails to federal officials in emergency situations.

Whether you are a government or a small business you must have a layered and defense in depth approach to the safety and security of your enterprise. You have to monitor insiders, gather intelligence and keep an eye on foreign competitors. Key people in your organization are key targets for a spectrum of threats both physical, economic and digital. When is the last time you saw a CEO, CFO, CRO or Board Member walk down to the INFOSEC department and ask the team if they had all the tools and resources they need to do their jobs effectively?

Lumeta IPSonar is one tool that could help if they don't have it already.

The Need For Better Network Intelligence
Effectively managing risk and change has become a daily task for IT management. Rapidly evolving virus and worm threats, compliance mandates, partner relationships, outsourcer arrangements and mobile workers create a wide range of unpredictable internal and external pressures that make managing and securing your IT infrastructure a constant challenge. In this dynamic business environment where almost everyone has a role in what connects to the network your success depends on the ability to gather and leverage up-to-date and accurate intelligence on the operational state of IT infrastructure.

And if they did raise their hand and say they could use some help with solutions to help combat all insider threats including intellectual property leakage, vendor collusion, financial fraud, and customer data loss. You would recommend they look at Oakley Networks.

Problem:
The Financial and Banking industry is under daily scrutiny by regulatory bodies due to the constant stream of fraud allegations, prosecution of high profile executives, and penalties for violations of SEC, NASD, GLBA, and other regulations. One recent case involves a former trader who practiced deceptive trading as part of a “secret agreement” with a large mutual fund. Further investigation uncovered a bogus brokerage (worth $500 million) which he used to carry out ethically questionable trades.

The leaders of a medium-size community bank, Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical company and local city government have the same thing in common with George W. Bush. They realize that their people and assets are under attack and they need all the tools and resources possible to stay vigilant. And at the end of the day, vigilance is what the US Patriot Act or purchasing the latest IT tools is all about.

operational risk