I was talking with a good friend of mine about our respective businesses the other day and we were comparing notes and stories. And he brought up this situation where he was dealing with a potential client and trying to get the prospect to commit to a concrete project with definite deliverables and results. However, the prospect that was from the IT world and was now dabbling in a business that would require physical production and he was unable to move forward.
This frustrated my friend who was a straightforward guy and he said to the client, “at some point, you have to move from bits to atoms.” He said, “bits are reversible but atoms are permanent, if you are making something as simple as a piece of wire you have to commit to it and be sure, the wire will never get made if you are just in the conceptual phase, you have to move bits to atoms.”
Too Much In The Bits
Too many times we live in the conceptual world. We talk about what we plan to do, we plan some more, and then we meet on it and discuss it and alter our plans. But we don’t necessarily take the action needed to make a plan a reality. We don’t always move from bits to atoms. We don’t always move from the plan to taking the requisite action.
This I believe is one of the primary reasons that we have so many successful cyber-attacks. We don’t take the action necessary to make a secure and safe system possible. If we would just follow my friend’s advice I believe so many serious cybersecurity risks can be mitigated and quickly.
It’s Not Rocket Science
I have said before that it is simple but not easy. What I mean by this is that what needs to be done is not some elaborate complicated cybersecurity system. It is not going to consume all of our possible technical expertise and send us down the rabbit hole. But that the solutions are relatively straightforward and already known by many in the industry. If you are not familiar with them which is understandable sometimes, you can get help from a trusted advisor that has expertise in cybersecurity. I help people all of the time, and the peace of mind it gives them is immeasurable.
So let’s get out of the bits phase as soon as possible and start moving toward the atoms phase. Dust off your cybersecurity policies and review them with your management and security experts immediately. If you do not have a set of cybersecurity policies then get someone on it immediately. Once again there are trusted advisors who can help with this.
Get engaged in the cybersecurity of your company today there is no excuse for senior executives to not be involved in the direction of their companies’ cybersecurity. Come up with a security posture that works for you and your company. Work with your peers and your supply chain to ensure you are as good as or better than they are as soon as possible. Get a security audit done immediately if you have not done one in the last six months. Don’t wait because the cyber criminals are hoping you just put it off a little longer. It’s time to move from bits to atoms.