Cybersecurity: ‘No Greater Issue’ in Business

In a recent conversation with the Wall Street Journal, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said there is “no greater issue” in the business world than cybercrime.

Bharara, who serves the Southern District of New York, is tasked with policing everything from terrorism to Wall Street. He told the Journal that in the seven years he’s been in his role, the U.S. Attorney’s office has increased tenfold its resources with respect to cybersecurity.

“We try to deter bad things from happening,” Bharara said, “but the best policing always, whether you’re talking about insider trading or you’re talking about accounting fraud or you’re talking about breaches in cybersecurity, the best policing happens at the companies themselves. No regulator and no outside consultant and no U.S. attorney is going to do the job for you.”

He also said he sees people engage in the issue when they recognize jobs are on the line.

“A bunch of (business executives have) said to me, ‘You know, what really got people’s attention was the degree to which it is perceived that the CEO of Target was sacked in part because of the breach that happened on his watch,’” Bahara said. “That’s what’s going to get people’s attention.”

To succeed in protecting a business against cybercrime, the U.S. attorney said the issue must be managed at the level of corporate governance.

“If you relegate the issue of cyber and protecting against the threat to the IT people, and think of it just only as a security matter,” he said, “you’re going to fail in how you prepare yourself for it.”

Source: Wall Street Journal