Dolby Hires VAR For Security Crack Down

It all started when the company decided to test wireless LAN technology. A few employees purchased a router and some WiFi cards at a local CompUSA store. They were suprised to find out that the security settings on the devices were not turned on, recalls Dolby CIO Mina Millett. "That just sent up a bunch of flags, Millett says. "We realized we have to be more vigilant."

Unbeknownst to anyone at Dolby but a few top officials, Millett hired Pittsburgh-based Vigilant Minds to conduct an "attack and penetration" test.

"Mina wanted to test the abilities of her own staff to detect an assault," says Vigilant Minds CTO Dave Keener. While he declines to discuss specific results, he says Dolby has used the results to better secure it's infrastructure and conducted another test about six months later.

After the penetration test, Millett signed onto another service offering called ESA, or enterprise security assessment, which is a top to bottom security audit of every piece of technology, people and processes.

"Security is her key focus," Keener says, noting the results have made her organization substantially more secure. "They've done an outstanding job at improving their security. He admits, they are more, pardon the pun, vigilant than most. "They ranked without a doubt, in the top 10 clients that we have in terms of where they stand today."