Enterprise Security Lessons from Rocky Balboa

It's amazing the effect songs have on us. Take, for example, Eye of the Tiger. If you're like me, this brings you right back to Rocky, the Italian Stallion that won the hearts of America as he trained and fought his way to victory. That song elicits images of strategy and dedication, the two key traits to Rocky's success. Why, you ask, do I bring this up here, on an Information Technology blog? Because the same elements that drove Rocky to success in the movie can ensure a data security victory in your IT environment. Strategy To have a successful and comprehensive security program within your enterprise, you must first define your strategy. I'm sure many of you already have this, but each strategy needs to include a way to protect your internal perimeter. Countless cases (Gucci and WikiLeaks are just two examples) show how important it is to make sure only individuals who need sensitive information have access to it. Whether this is at the root level or as a desktop admin, this concept of least privilege is paramount to keeping your data secure. Dedication Dedication to an IT strategy is critical to making that strategy succeed. If, for example, you implement a least privilege solution in your enterprise, but then waver from this goal when someone from your sales team wants access to information not required for their job, all of your best intentions will be for naught. You and your management team must remain committed to the objectives established, lest there be gaping holes in your data security solution.