Guest Post: Keep Your Friends Close

Oct 29, 2012 4:15 PM ET
Campaign: 3BL Blogs

Posted by Stephen Heiser

The nuclear industry today has redefined security for modern collaboration. In the old days the practice of restricting access was fairly straightforward. You kept your secrets secure from the bad guys and made sure that the good guys had access to absolutely everything that might help them succeed.

Things were as simple as an old black & white John Wayne Western. There were the good guys and the bad guys. The good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats. Who needed a color TV for these classics? Today, things are a bit more complicated. In the digital age there are sneaky bad guys who want to get a hold of your digital assets, and it can be surprisingly easy to do now that we’re not talking about pieces of paper in locked filing cabinets. There is also a third group. There are the good guys that we cooperate with in some areas and directly compete with in other areas, so they’re only allowed to see certain things.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, nobody beats the nuclear industry when it comes to sharing knowledge. This environment of sharing makes things safer, more compliant, and more efficient for everybody every day. And for that I am quite comforted. But how do you protect your cyber assets from the bad guys while still sharing them with the good guys…inside or outside your organization?

Click here to continue reading and comment   Stephen Heiser has been writing about nuclear power and related topics since 1990. He has presented at major industry events, provided industry commentary for broadcast events, and written for a number of energy focused publications. His blog is sponsored by Bentley Systems.