At netlogx, we like to preach that data and information are the lifeblood of any organization. One of the reasons we like to say this is because we approach the management of information and data from a risk management perspective. In the 21st century, products and services are secondary to the money maker that is data. How often do you hear about a large data breach involving a global, multibillion-dollar company?

The point is not about frequency; the point is that you hear about it. In the past, cyber breaches and other information management issues were not as big of news as they are now. The reason for this is that data breaches now cost companies millions of dollars for every day that a company is hemorrhaging information.

Indianapolis is a diverse and vibrant community for technology and IT. Our growing tech scene is so prevalent that the FBI has one of the command centers for cyber terrorism located here. A few years ago, I had the privilege to spend an afternoon with a few special agents who were presenting on best practices for dealing with data breaches. What I found fascinating about the content of these presentations was that from a financial perspective, it made more sense for large organizations to just pay the ransom for the hack than actually go through the proper reporting channels.

You read what I wrote correctly, no need to double-take.

As controversial as it seems, it can sometimes be cheaper for organizations to go the route of paying the ransom than reporting the crime to the FBI and following the appropriate channels for data recovery and cyber threat management. The difference can sometimes be in the tens of millions of dollars when one accounts for every day of downtime an organization loses without their data. These cyber terrorist organizations are sometimes so well coordinated that they have a specialized help desk in case these organizations have trouble accessing their data after they pay the ransom.

This is why netlogx places such an emphasis on information management in all of our service areas. Utilizing the experience we have acquired over 21 years of managing data, and combining that experience with the unique needs of our clients, gives us the chance to create project plans and programs that address information management on the front- and back-end of any endeavor.

By creating programs that address how information is shared, stored, encrypted, and recovered, an organization already sets itself up for success in the event that their data/information becomes compromised. This can eliminate much of the risk an organization faces when it comes to managing information.