The Tech Break

On May 15, 2014 San Diego Daily Transcript Executive Editor, George Chamberlin, sat down with our CEO, Jim Matteo, to talk about technology solutions we provide to enterprise businesses as well as Jim's efforts to foster entrepreneurship. Enjoy!

Growing BYOD trend still raises security concerns

These days, employees are bringing to their workplaces their own personal devices, like smart phones, tablets and laptops.

In the past, a lot of companies weren’t too keen on the idea of allowing workers to use their own equipment. The overriding concern was about security of company data, as well as being uncomfortable with employees storing work information on personal devices.

Now, it appears that such thinking is starting to change. There’s a phenomenon spreading through business across the country that’s known as Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD.

“As companies keep recruiting millennials, BYOD is going to be important in keeping them happy,” said Jim Matteo, CEO of San Diego-based Bird Rock Systems, which provides network security solutions for a wide variety of businesses.

For the full story visit:

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/nov/25/tp-use-of-personal-devices-at-work-gaining/

In an interview with the San Diego Business Journal, CEO of Bird Rock Systems Jim Mateo breaks down the first steps on how to protect your company data. When looking into the access and security of confidential data, especially sensitive data, he says that security and access may call for “two-factor authentication,” requiring a person to submit two forms of proof that they have permission to look at the data. This might be a password coupled with biometric information such as the user’s fingerprint.

Matteo displays a different security device used in two-factor authentication: A plastic token about the size of a house key. The device, from EMC Corp. subsidiary RSA, contains a liquid crystal display which shows a code number. The number changes every 60 seconds according to a mathematical pattern. To gain access to sensitive information, a computer user might key in their personal password as well as the number from the SecurID device.

Mateo continues on to talk about how to employ basic security techniques by describing how businesses need appropriate electronics, such as a firewall or a universal threat management device, to make it harder for hackers to get in.

“Next generation firewalls that are application aware are a great tool for businesses of all sizes,” Matteo said. These might uncover software that a computer owner was previously unaware of its presence.

For the full story visit: http://www.sdbj.com/news/2012/jun/25/down-dark-alleys-data/?page=2