Q & A With Bob Hayes
SECURITY
THE BUSINESS OF
BOB HAYES, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF THE SECURITY EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, BELIEVES THE TIME HAS COME NOW FOR COMPANIES TO IMPROVE THEIR SECURITY POSTURE DUE TO THE C-SUITE’S NEW-FOUND INTEREST IN REDUCING, MANAGING AND MITIGATING RISK
Security Matters: How has the issue of regulation and compliance impacted corporate security?
Bob Hayes: I think the greatest impact has been on management’s awareness of security and their understanding of the role of security in reducing corporate risk. The number of security-related laws, regulations and guidelines has grown exponentially since 9/11. All these regulations, presidential directives, exec- utive orders and high-profile trials of cor- porate criminal activity have made management acutely aware of the wide variety of risks to the corporation and their role in mitigating these risks. The security leader who does not capitalize on management’s new-found interest is missing a great opportunity.
SM: How do companies that properly manage security risks add value to their business?
BH: The best process I have seen to date is what we call enterprise/security risk alignment. The key elements include: 1) every senior manager of every major function in the company lists their most critical business objectives; 2) corporate security then lists every security-related risk and mitigation strategy for the risks to those business goals; 3) the business executive then decides which risks he is willing to accept, and which risks he wants to mitigate; 4) they both agree on how much residual risk will remain after the application of the mitigation solution; 5) the executive decides how much the corporation is willing to pay to mitigate the risk, what the mitigation metrics and timeline will be and what each group’s role will be.
38 SECURITY MATTERS • MAY/JUNE 2010
SM: How can companies better educate their employees on security awareness?
BH: Security awareness programs are in a state of flux at the moment. Budgets are tight, everyone is overloaded with work and critical issues, and proactive programs are hard to place a value on. Although everyone wants to be proactive, it is a hard program to sustain. Yet no security pro- gram can be effective without each person in the company doing their part. Each person has to be made aware of the risks in his/her area of responsibility. They then must be advised of their role in reducing the risks and be given the resources to do it. Bottom line, awareness programs have to be rolled out in very cost-effective, flex- ible and time-efficient formats.
SM: How has the Internet impacted the way companies prepare their crisis management plans?
BH: The Internet has enabled every dis- gruntled employee, contractor, customer or stranger to lash out or seek retribution from corporations, agencies, government, schools and individuals. Social networking sites have given everyone a voice that can reach millions and it can be used construc- tively or destructively. Corporations are now experiencing crises created on and some- times by the Internet. These crises cannot be responded to by traditional means, such as a press conference or a board meeting. These kinds of crises are complex and chal- lenging phenomena that need to be re- sponded to very quickly. Dominos Pizza and United Airlines have both suffered high-pro- file brand crises from online incidents within the last year. Both of these situations were launched through social networking or viral video by individuals, and were so effective
that millions of people have formed opin- ions based on these events. Our report,
Crisis Management at the Speed of
Internet, recommends companies prepare by clearly delineating roles and responsi- bilities in the event of an online crisis, as- sessing the risk to the organization, communicating clearly with management, and conducting tabletop exercises.
SM: Is there a way for companies to measure their security performance through some type of metric system?
BH: There is no off-the-shelf solution that can be bought or implemented quickly that I am aware of. It can certainly be done, but it is not easy or even intuitive. The Security Executive Council has developed many se- curity metrics tools to assist our commu- nity to tackle the difficult task of doing more than just measuring activities.
SM: What are some of the major secu- rity trends you see as we move forward in 2010?
BH: Reduced budgets and resources are a given. The biggest wake-up call has been security leaders’ loss of management au- thority. People who used to be able to sign for $150,000 now need a second signature for a $2,000 expenditure for outside pur- chases. A very small number of people in many companies are controlling all expen- ditures at too high a level. As well, reliance on outside resources will continue to grow, as will management’s knowledge of risk and mitigation strategies. Not to mention their expectations of managers they think have a responsibility for reducing those risks. They will continue to ask for proof or evidence of reduced risk because the board is asking that of the CEO.
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