IB Woman
Issue No. 16 - April/May 2004
The Invisible Woman
by Jo Stewart-Rattray
Currently the Director of Information Security for Vectra Corporation, Jo specialises in information security issues with a particular emphasis on infrastructure in both the commercial and operational areas of business. As a Certified Information Systems Auditor and a member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), Jo is eminently qualified in this area. She further is a Certified BS 7799 Lead Auditor and is qualified to assist organisations who wish to work towards accreditation against the Information Security Management Standard.
With 16 years experience in the IT field, including time as Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the Utilities and Information Security areas, Jo underpins her security audit background with qualifications in Education majoring in Cognitive Psychology and Management.
She and her husband made a ’lifestyle decision’ in re—locating from Sydney to the sleepy hollow of Auburn in the Clare Valley – hardly a throbbing metropolis for information technology and cyber sabotage.
‘My day begins with a beautiful drive and ends the same way,’ Jo laughs. ‘I engage the cruise control, slow down for four towns and spend about 90 minutes each way appraising and reviewing my day.’
The failure by companies to protect their information assets exposes them to increasingly serious threats, says Jo, who feels that many companies have sidelined information security investments possibly due the large spend required for Y2K.
‘It is imperative that security investment decisions and disaster recovery planning be revisited by business and I see three major trends developing,’ warns Jo.
- Increase spending: There will be an increase in security spending as businesses begin to recognise that they need to review their security positions on an annual basis.
- Strengthen weak links: Information security starts with people and business reliance on technology is only part of th...
