On Thursday, 12/09/2010 at 12:01 EST, Tom Huegel <[email protected]> wrote: > Does it really matter? SOX is just another way congress has come up with to > destroy the American economy, and in fact the American way of life.
When you read the law, you find that SOX is "simply" a way to hold executives responsible for the financial statements issued by their companies. Assuming no ill intent (no comments, please!), that means trustworthy data. That flows downhill, as all such things must, until we start talking about access controls and audit mechanisms for financial data. That is, knowing who has the means and the opportunity to access the data, and knowing who has actually done so. (I leave it to others to talk about motive.) Who, what, where, when. Unfortunately, IT security industry consultants have mangled this laudable concept into a paranoia-inducing behemoth that has people screaming in terror as it rampages across the country, flogging every sysadmin in its path. Why? Because financial status is inferred from many other data sources and no one wants to spend the time it takes to follow all the data flows. Result: Secure Everything. With HIPAA and PCI running alongside, the "Secure Everything" policy looks even more reasonable to CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, and their lawyers. Alan Altmark z/VM and Linux on System z Consultant IBM System Lab Services and Training ibm.com/systems/services/labservices office: 607.429.3323 [email protected] IBM Endicott
