Public Connections? Don’t Follow The Crowd
Written by Todd L. MichaudFranchisee Columnist Todd Michaud has spent the last 16 years trying to fight IT issues, with the last six years focused on franchisee IT issues. He is currently responsible for IT at Focus Brands (Cinnabon, Carvel, Schlotzsky’s and Moe’s Southwestern Grill).
Public or Private? When it comes to what type of computer network should be implemented within a franchise retail chain, that is the question. Franchisees are challenging their chains to justify the costs, added complexity and reduced reliability of having a private network when there are other chains that operate without one. In today’s retail environment, having a basic, public Internet connection is not a good option. Good or bad, most of the business leaders and franchisees who I have worked with disagree, citing the time honored “but everyone else is doing it” argument.
IT security is truly a funny business. If you ask any business leader about the importance of having a top-notch IT security program, they will almost always tell you that it is paramount. Unless it is a large company that has regulatory requirements, when there is a conflict between a business need and a security concern, the security concerns more often than not are pushed aside or diminished. Such is often the case when determining if the chain should be leveraging a secure network (example: private frame or VPN connections) or going with a standard offering such as DSL, cable, satellite or a FIOS-like product.
Why is this such a challenge? Well, not only can you process credit card transactions over a public Internet connection, but the PCI standards say that that is OK as long as the system “uses strong cryptography and security protocols such as SSL/TLS or IPsec to safeguard sensitive cardholder data during transmission.” (PCI 1.2 Requirement 4.1, to be precise.)
Most retail business leaders argue that PCI is an IT security policy. The folks in retail IT will tell you that it is not. Many retail CIOs who I have spoken with have talked about how they wish they could do “what is right” versus “the minimum to meet PCI.”
In the franchisee retail IT world, if you are going to have franchisees spend more than what is required to meet the minimum standard, you had better be prepared to defend your position. Therein lies the problem: Although the list of benefits is long and significant, even the top IT professionals have a difficult time explaining to a non-technical person why having a private network is so important.
If you are looking for a surefire way to get a business leader’s eyes to glaze over, try explaining private IP addresses, centralized firewall policy management, intrusion detection or vulnerability scanning. For double points, do it without a whiteboard or paper. Want triple points? Do it without even using your hands as a visual aid. (Good luck!)
Another problem is that IT security is such a nebulous term. After all, you could never mitigate all of the risks, at least not without putting yourself out of business. So who is best suited to determine what level of IT security is appropriate?
-Marc
October 1st, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Something else to ponder in the VPN vs. Internet debate is in compliance responsibility. With a centrally managed option (such as a VPN) the corporation can control and enforce compliance, whereas without such a setting, each franchisee is provided with the tools to become compliant, however, the ultimate responsibility to follow those practices is up to them.
Managing 1000 security policies 1 by 1 is actually impossible and I’d venture much more expensive than a central option if the corporation takes on that role.