ARC Security: Training Code For Cybercops

What must cybercops do to minimize the risk of intrusion or cybertheft for their companies? Mark Fabro, managing director of Guardent Canada, a Toronto-based digital security services company, has several suggestions, in addition to also urging business managers to ensure a healthy environment in the workplace so cybercops can do their jobs to protect digital information from harm.

1. Get educated. The only defense to information pilfering is rooted in education. Learn everything you can about how networks operate and how communication software functions. If the software your company uses has holes in it, download patches to correct the weaknesses.

2. Think like a hacker. To ward off cyberintrusions, cybercops must be aware of what hackers do. Visit the dedicated Web sites that hackers use. Know about the cracking software that is available on the Internet.

3. Use a wide variety of resources. Don't isolate yourself. Join professional security organizations and stay informed. Hire third-party contractors to teach company leaders about network-security issues.

4. Use a team approach. It takes more than one cybercop to do the job right. Cybercops need to develop a qualified team of deputies to pinpoint each source of threat, from the inside out. Companies must be willing to hire psychologists to help monitor employees' behavior and to guide the team in drawing profiles of potential threats. Such behavioral specialists are essential in helping the team assess controls to protect corporate information and the hardware that handles it.