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Why Don't IT Generalists Understand Security?
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R@Ddad88
R@Ddad88,
 User Rank: Apprentice
10/8/2014 | 10:32:44 PM
Why Don't IT Generalists Understand Security?
The IT Generalist, dows not want to deal with security.  People want speed and conveinience, rather than deal with security slowiong down their productivity.  Most people also believe that there is a department dedicated to making the security piece work.  Modern trainig plans call for slides to present and educate the average user on need for security, and how they are an important part of security.  Skipping trhough slides, to get to the end, not really learning anything of value. The average user considers the requirement for security just an annual boring training requirement and not a day to day necessity.
JunkNtheTrunk
JunkNtheTrunk,
 User Rank: Apprentice
10/8/2014 | 10:34:11 PM
IT professionals
I believe that most IT professionals do not need to the ins and outs of encryption. That seems a bit much. I believe that a basic understanding of good security practices would be sufficient.
rubiusavonside
rubiusavonside,
 User Rank: Apprentice
10/8/2014 | 10:35:15 PM
It Security
I think a lot of general IT professionals find the policies of security to be a very boring and dry subject and simply skim over the required materials for their jobs.  Do they need to know?  I agree there is a happy middle ground where they should know enough to not be that weak link but should understand when they need to seek out a Security Profesional for more information.
anon9788632438
anon9788632438,
 User Rank: Apprentice
10/8/2014 | 10:36:41 PM
Re: IT Security
I'm in the camp that believes security specialists should be separate from general IT and risk management. I don't know the grounds from which you're making this observation aboUT general IT professionals but in my experience it is dead on. Mine can manage Active Directory and say big techy words but fail in carrying on basic conversation about security except to regurgitate but words.
rp415
rp415,
 User Rank: Apprentice
10/8/2014 | 10:40:28 PM
Re: Understanding security
I am not sure whether to agree or disagree with this video. In my experience the general IT team members that I have worked around were not very experienced in the field so it is to be expected that they are not well versed in IT Security features. The IT Directors that I have worked with were more familiar with IT security functions such as encryption but they really could not do anything to secure the network without first recieving word from the corporate IT team.
ldaniee
ldaniee,
 User Rank: Apprentice
10/8/2014 | 10:41:10 PM
Re: Understanding security
I think that here  s alot of infomtionin the IT word and ome peope don't want to do ore then theiy are required

 
Marilyn Cohodas
Marilyn Cohodas,
 User Rank: Strategist
10/9/2014 | 7:44:31 AM
Re: It Security -- boring?
@rubiusavonside, From an outsider's perspective, I wouldn't characterize IT security as boring or dry compared to general IT. But it does have a different language and the concepts and issues are complex, and not readily understood by simply reading a couple of articles or viewing a power point presentation. So the smart professionals on both sides of the divide are those who recognize when they need to inform (or be informed) about important trends and have developed relationships that foster open lines of communication. 
Killer
Killer"B",
 User Rank: Strategist
10/9/2014 | 10:37:30 AM
IT vs. InfoSec
The gap between IT and InfoSec comes down to how one looks at what is being transported and stored.  Too many IT folks I have interacted with see what they do as moving bits and bytes, not information with value.

Information Security looks at what is contained in those bits and bytes and its value.  Then access to that value comes into play and this is where the concepts of access control kicks in.  People want convenient access to their valuable information, but they should be able to access it...  And so goes the fight over convenience and security. 

Think of it like a car.  The car was designed to transport people around more conveniently.  But as time went on we determine that it lacked security.  We added lights, windshield wipers, seatbelts, door locks, anti-theft systems...  It's quite a long list now.

The original purpose has not changed.  Compare the Ford Model T to today's Ford Focus.  Both have four wheels, a couple of doors, headlights.  But the Focus has so much more in security features.  And these features protect us from others as much as our self

We can have Security or Convenience, choose wisely.
Sara Peters
Sara Peters,
 User Rank: Author
10/9/2014 | 11:44:15 AM
Re: Why Don't IT Generalists Understand Security?
@R@Ddad88   This is really interesting, because it sounds like you're saying that most of the people in the IT department are just as bored by and uninterested in security awareness training as non-techie end users. Do you think that security teams need to create super-exciting security awareness training sessions that are just for other people in the IT department?
Sara Peters
Sara Peters,
 User Rank: Author
10/9/2014 | 11:52:36 AM
Re: IT professionals
@JunkNtheTrunk   Well I agree with you that IT generalists don't need to know all the ins and outs of encryption. Heck, I don't actually think that all IT security people need to understand EXACTLY how encryption does what it does -- that's the purview of crypto geeks.

However what I saw is a misunderstanding on what encryption accomplishes. For example, while we know that whole-disk encryption on that laptop is a good thing, in case that laptop is stolen, we know that it won't necessarily prevent your laptop from being owned by a bot-herder. Not all the people in IT seem to understand the difference, and when it comes to encryption, that's important, since many companies feel like encryption will save them from all liability.
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