Cybersecurity issues are a major concern for businesses of all sizes. Cyberthreats come in a variety of forms, but the damages are clear. The Internet Crime Complaint Center's (IC3) 2013 Internet Crime Report paints a grisly picture of the damages that cybercrime can create. Approximately 262,813 consumer complaints regarding Internet Crime were filed with IC3. This led to an adjusted losses figure of $781,841,611, a 48 percent increase over the previous year.
Cybercrime in the consumer market may not be the same as it is in businesses, but consumerization is taking a strong hold in enterprise and public sector organizations, making the damages in the consumer sector a very real issue for organizations. What happens to consumers can just as easily happen to businesses as individuals starting using personal mobile devices and applications to get the job done. Organizations that want to protect users in a consumerized technological environment need more than anti-malware and network protection suites, they also need to refine their processes to make sure users aren't taking shortcuts or sharing data in ways that could create risk.
Business process management software as a cybersecurity tool
Efforts in the United Kingdom provide a clear example of how BPM software can improve cybersecurity. A recent Information Age report explained that the GCHQ, an intelligence agency, will begin sharing data pertaining to cyberthreats to businesses in the country. In particular, the project is aimed at organizations that work with infrastructure that holds national importance. For example, utility providers that run energy grids that could be targeted by cybercriminals would be included in this plan.
The news source explained while this type of data sharing is useful, it can only pay off if that information is integrated effectively into processes. This means getting business leaders to buy into cybersecurity efforts by demonstrating the value of the technology. In many cases, business users look at security and data protection tools as restrictive, and efforts need to be made to integrate cybersecurity processes into everyday operations with minimal disruption. This is where BPM solutions can come into play, as effectively managing the processes that go into data protection can make it easier to develop innovative plans.
BPM, consumerization and data protection
BPM isn't just helpful for large organizations dealing with infrastructure of national importance. There are still major questions as to how organizations should establish security and user authentication best practices in environments where workers depend heavily on cloud or mobile technologies. Ensuring secure operations while minimizing user restrictions is key, and BPM solutions can help organizations integrate data security and authorization processes into user operations in an efficient way.
Director of Corporate Communications
