Trying to Find the Answer to Security

Information security managers in government, corporations and universities are about as frustrated as they can get in trying to find ways to tighten network security and protect privacy. (Just last month, as posted in Tech Insider, a well respected cybersecurity expert from Georgia Tech figuratively threw up his hands, saying securing the Internet against cybercrime isn’t going to happen.)

But the gloomy outlook hasn’t stopped security experts from trying new approaches. The University of Toronto this year launched the Identity, Privacy and Security Initiative (IPSI), which includes two related interdisciplinary masters level programs: a Masters of Professional Engineering and a Masters of Information Studies with concentration in security, reports InterGovWorld.com.

The program’s chair, Dimitrios Hatzinakos, says security managers have not been trained in programs that combine identity, privacy and security technology, processes and management. “Most of them are self-trained after they joined companies, but they have never been trained to have a holistic understanding of security,” according to the article.

Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ann Cavoukian, said:

The IPSI program will not only educate future generations on how to build privacy into technology, but it will also hopefully develop a culture of privacy, a way of thinking that is committed to better information management and the protection of privacy. Even the most advanced technologies and the most rigorous privacy policies will not be wholly effective if organizations do not accept the protection of privacy as part of their institutional culture.

Changing culture. Not sure if a masters degree is the tool that can make that happen.