When the Boston Bombings occurred, the Dow dropped 266 points. When Syrian hackers hijacked the Associated Press (AP) Twitter feed and reported the White House had been bombed and President Obama was injured, the Dow dropped 100 points in two minutes or the equivalent of almost $136 Billion. Today’s stock exchanges are running on what is commonly referred to as high frequency trading (HFT). This, when incorporated with the recent acceptance of social media onto the Floor, has many concerned.
The Dow Jones Industrials (Dow) is an average of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks, primarily industrials, including stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow, as it is called, is a barometer of how shares of the largest US companies are performing.
So, why am I writing about this? Most Contractors have absolutely no idea what I am talking about. Only a small percentage of C Level personnel at the Nationals (I don’t even consider Regionals let alone the Order Mills below them relevant) understand HFT and then only because it was required study for their MBAs. You see, though, this article is not so much about HFT as it is about the impact of social media upon the corporate landscape today.
The impact of social media upon society today is unquestionable. One only needs to look at the Arab Spring. Whether right or wrong; whether the impact is positive or negative, the governments of entire Nations have been toppled. With this in mind, we all need to look at the security protocols in place for our firms and the networks we access on a daily basis.
For example, today Foreclosurepedia received a request for specific information about our Company. Now, normally it would not be a big deal as I recognized the name on the email account. I additionally ran an email header extraction upon the email. Granted, it doesn’t mean that the email address is not spoofed. Here’s the rub: Personal emails asking for information SHOULD NEVER BE REPLIED TO!
So, in light of our real time world, how are you protecting not only yourself , but against the liability of distribution of confidential information? Feel free to reach out to us today for a Network Assessment! As an avid open source coder I bring to bear a unique skill set to ensure the peace of mind your Firm needs for the 21st Century!
