Editor's Note: A Question Of Balance: Collaboration Vs. Security

It was one of those days. I had just gotten out of horrendous traffic on the Beltway, my cell phone kept conking out on me during an important conference call, deadlines were looming, and if my laptop dinged one more time to let me know that I had yet another E-mail, I was going to scream. I got home late, the cat had decided that the living-room rug was a perfect litter box, the bills that I meant to put in the mailbox that morning were still sitting on the kitchen counter, and my 2-year old reminded me once again that we still don't have a pumpkin!

But before I threw my hands in the air, I started thinking about all the unfortunate people who have to rebuild their lives, their businesses, and their confidence because of the recent terror attacks. I realized my problems were just mere inconveniences. As a direct result of those attacks, we're all likely experiencing some level of inconvenience. Whether it's intermittent phone service, longer lines at airports, shipping delays, parking spaces that are farther away from office buildings, or random security checks at roadway tunnels-all are small sacrifices in the name of better security.

But allow me to take this notion of inconvenience and sacrifice to a different level. Last week, federal law-enforcement officials advised thousands of business-technology executives to maintain the highest state of alert to ensure that the nation's IT infrastructure is secure. The request likely caused a fair amount of second-guessing-whether existing security procedures are good enough and even whether the foundation on which many business models have been built over the past several years is too flawed, too fragile, too vulnerable to ever be secure. Specifically, Richard Clarke, special adviser to President Bush for cyberspace security, not only recommended a series of minimum steps companies should take to secure their infrastructure, but also said that some business-to-business operations should move from the Internet to more-secure virtual private networks or back to dedicated lines.

It's a radical proposition. Are companies willing to reverse their strategies? To sacrifice the resources, cultural changes, and money put into building Internet-based business strategies? Can they afford not to? Does it jeopardize the dream of collaborative business or simply reinforce the need to "trust, but verify" those that you do business with? On page 22, senior writer Steve Konicki takes a closer look at how companies are reacting to the Bush administration's proposals and where there may be room for compromise.

STEPHANIE STAHL
Editor
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