The Toughest Business on Earth Hackers and Other Hazards by Emily Q. Freeman Emily Q. Freeman is Marsh's practice leader for e-business risk solutions. In the past, such critical enter-prise infrastructure represented physical plant, equipment and inventory. But in a technology-based environment, an enterprise's core operations depend on electronic information and computer networks. Everything a business knows and has besides its creative people resides on its databases and systems.
Electronic information is a key driver of revenue and worth.
Thus, information technology risk management now should involve the identification, assessment, control, mitiga-tion and financing of probable risks commensurate with the enterprise's brand, reputation, assets and operations. Consider the risk of electronic data destruction, corruption or disclosure by internal or external computer attackers. And businesses are reluctant to reveal information about cyber crime or cyber attacks, as the public relations and investor fallout could damage brand and reputation. Businesses are thus less likely to notify law enforcement about known cyber crime and its perpetrators. And it is difficult to catch and convict such attackers, as it is relatively easy for them to hide under false addresses, electronically mask the route of the attack and escape from limited federal resources.