If it breaks and it stops business, it could be very costly. And if customer information or credit cards get stolen, you're also talking reputation risk. Patience and flexibility are also important for anyone doing this work, staffing experts say. First, according to Ian Poynter, founder and president of security consulting firm Jerboa Inc. in Boston, it's hard to deal with imperfect technologies that don't interoperate easily. Second, building secure infrastructures over insecure operating systems, applications and services isn't easy.
Administrators tampering with secured servers can be an issue.
Koref says he feels pretty good about his future. With the shortage of information security professionals and the boom in e-commerce, Koref can count on work well into the future. But he says his ultimate plan is to manage people like himself. Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Computerworld, Inc. is prohibited.