CIO: The New Chief in Charge

AdobeStock_507078931-300x169In the twenty-first century, information is power. Businesses are facing unprecedented challenges in the race to create, maintain and protect information. These challenges have become painfully obvious in recent years. Business owners have had to move their operations to an entirely remote format while still maintaining cybersecurity. Cybersecurity has been breached in multiple brazen attacks against some of the country’s largest companies. Information security can no longer be taken for granted by any successful business. The key to success starts with the right human infrastructure within your organization. The right Chief Information Officer can protect your company’s confidential client information, intellectual property, and trade secrets to prevent the legal liability and bad publicity that comes with a data breach.

How Corporate Information Changed During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The global economy has become increasingly interconnected in the early twenty-first. Business moved online as companies have expanded their reach across the world. For most companies, however, these online operations were merely supplemental to a workforce that primarily operated in person. All of that changed with the coronavirus pandemic. Suddenly, businesses were forced to move their operations entirely online if they wanted to survive. Data had to be secured to allow employees to work remotely via Zoom, Skype, WebEx, Facetime, and other video conferencing services. Two+ years into the pandemic, it seems clear that remote work will become more and more popular in the years to come. Businesses must find a way to facilitate this major change while ensuring the security of their data.

How a CIO Can Protect Your Company’s Data

Too many business owners fail to think about cybersecurity until there is a breach. Strong security starts with a strong business infrastructure. A CIO can ensure that your company has the proper protocols in place to prevent data breaches. Some of these measures (such as anti-virus programs) will be in your company’s software, while others (like thumbprint or face scan recognition) will be part of the hardware. Some steps will address human errors. Your CIO should ensure that the company has policies about employee use of confidential data. The CIO should also have a plan to ensure that employees who breach company privacy policies are immediately subject to discipline.

Security infrastructure is important because it protects your company’s information on a minute-by-minute basis. A CIO can ensure that effective security infrastructure is set up, maintained, and enforced across your company’s business operations. Not all companies need a dedicated c-suite executive to manage these functions full time. If, however, your business does not have a CIO, it is still critical to ensure that someone is responsible for protecting security on a daily basis.

The Right Silicon Valley Corporate Lawyers for All C-Suite Employment Issues

C-suite employment raises complex legal issues for both executives and the company that employ them. The experienced California corporate lawyers at Structure Law Group can help your business negotiate executive employment for all types of corporate officials. Call (408) 441-7500 to schedule a consultation or contact us online.