Identity 3D3C: Confronting the Security and Privacy Challenges in Virtual Worlds

by Yesha Sivan

There has been much talk recently regarding a convergence of information security and privacy. Not that this is anything particularly new - convergence has been happening ever since privacy became a concern. After all, privacy requires the implementation of robust information security controls and appropriate safeguards. There are at least 46 privacy breach notice laws in the US alone; understanding and complying with their multiple requirements (to say nothing of the growing number of other national and international privacy laws) will require privacy and information security areas to work together for effective enterprise-wide management.

In this issue of Cutter IT Journal, we'll examine the critical - and overlapping - areas of information security, privacy, and compliance. Security expert Ron Woerner will tell you how collaborative risk management can bring the right groups together to find your organization's privacy and security "sweet spot." From attorney Bill Zucker and his colleagues, you'll hear four (often rollicking) stories about the costly information security, privacy, and compliance mistakes their clients have made, "in the hope that from these cautionary tales, you, like us, will develop good judgment from experience - with the understanding that, unfortunately, experience comes from bad judgment"! And security/privacy professional Ilene Klein will show you how to create an effective and thoroughgoing security awareness program, which she calls "the first line of defense against security's weakest link" - your own people. Be sure to join us as Cutter Senior Consultant Yesha Sivan, one of Computerworld's "Best Privacy Advisers" of 2008, leads the search for a safe path through one of IT's most mine-filled areas.