TETRA PAK INFORMATION SECURITY STATUS
Abstract
The success of Tetra Pak Company in its market can be attributed to its ability to develop highly innovative and competitive products and efficient information security programs in mitigating the risk of data loss. The management of Tetra Pak operates on the understanding that eliminating the challenge of data breaches is possible by developing a technique of grappling with balancing the risks of loss, interruption, and exploitation of profound data with the profits realized when the company is involved in storing, analyzing, and sharing information. This implies the need of adopting a comprehensive approach to securing data that in transit or at rest.
Key words: information security, Tetra Pak, data, breaches, customers, value,
Tetra Pak Information Security Status
Introduction
Technological development in the contemporary society has made it necessary for companies to develop plans for enhancing the security of information assets. Through information security programs, enterprises have the opportunity of developing frameworks which will keep them at the desired security level. They do so through an assessment of the risks that they face, developing mitigation strategies on the safety practices, and updating programs. The success of Tetra Pak Company in its market can be attributed to its ability to develop effective information security programs in mitigating the risk of data loss. The company operates through a definite and efficient way of managing the safety of the information and technology within the company.
Company Background
Tetra Pak company is the leading food processing and packaging solutions company. Since its establishment in 1959, the company has been successful through mutual relationships with its suppliers and customers. Tetra Pak is considered a highly competitive company because it provides safe, environmentally friendly, and innovative products that meet the needs of millions of people in more than 170 countries (Tetra Pak 2011). Moreover, it employs about 24,000 employees with outlets in about 80 countries. The organization operates on the motto Protects What Good which is a reflection of its vision and dedication to making safe food and making it available everywhere (Tetra Pak 2011). Additionally, it operates on the belief that competitive advantage and success in its business initiatives can be realized through responsible industry leadership and sustainable approach to the development of business objectives and policies.
In its activities, Tetra Pak offers an array of services with the aim of assisting food and beverage companies in realizing effective and quality operations. Tetra Pak provides products and services surpassing the provision of machine parts and maintenance. This is because the company also offers full plant service and training from its specialists. The company provides services a variety of products including consumable upgrades, customized training, consulting, personnel evaluation, and remote support (Tetra Pak 2011). Tetra Pak’s expanded services provides assistance to food and beverage plants which is critical in delivering safe and high quality products at affordable costs which is critical in the reduction of environmental effects (Tetra Pak 2011).
By the expanding of its service portfolio, the company has been able to leverage its decades of experience in packaging and processing hence offering innovative products and services whose design is to help the customers realize excellent manufacturing. These expansion initiatives ensure that the customers benefit from increased productivity and efficiency (Tetra Pak 2011).Consulting is a major service package offered by Tetra Pak. Through this service, the company integrates expert advice in the benchmarking and developing modified and uninterrupted development program. This program covers the areas of information management in production, effective performance, environmental conservation, quality supplies, and logistical management (Tetra Pak 2011). The effectiveness of Tetra Pak services is enabled by innovative digitalization and technologies, which facilitate customer remote support, training, access to information and data, and condition monitoring. The company uses its full systems in offering end-to-end solutions (Tetra Pak 2011). This explains the continuous commitment of the company in investing in new technology for innovative operation (Tetra Pak 2011). The company also incorporates technological tools in the creation of new elucidations and enhancing service provision.
Analysis of Risks
Innovation and the need to secure company and customer data are driving Tetra Pak into the identification and access to management solutions, which secure digital identities and information. Just like any other corporate entity securing data, Tetra Pak not only complies with legislations but also uses its information security program in enhancing its competitive advantage and enabling the realization of new business processes (Tetra Pak 2011). The existence of high-level openness and accessibility has become the main stimulant of the adoption and subsequent growth of the web, private networks, and the internet. These developments not only threaten the discretion of individuals but also the concealment of business information and the integrity of business transactions. For companies that thrive on innovation and monopoly in the realization of their competitive advantage, openness and accessibility of company data raise concerns. These concerns are inclusive of the risk of modification, larceny, distribution, and interruption of private data by undeserved individuals (Tetra Pak 2011). Additional apprehensions include the probability of monetary loss, impaired reputation, and deception-related cases. The source of danger to information security in an exceedingly competitive market emanates from exterior foundations such as computer hackers and opponents. Internally these coercions arise from discontented or inquisitive contractors and personnel (Tetra Pak 2011). An additional challenge for Tetra Pak is the ability to develop information security programs that can ensure sufficient protection of digital information to enhance regulatory compliance while at the same time preventing and countering possible threats from cyber-attacks.
The need for an effective information security programs in companies such as Tetra Pak is based on the realization that the quantity of risks associated with confidentiality breaches and data theft often cause disruptions in the operationalization of an organization over time (Tetra Pak 2011). Failure to incorporate an effective security program threatens the effectiveness and efficiency of a company because the process of remediating and investigating a data breach may result in loss of trust among customers and suppliers and this exposes the business to losses and direct cash expenditures in mitigating any security incident (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). The success of Tetra Pak can be associated with the ability of the company to provide high class and customized services to their client such that their operations are not only exemplary but also unique in the food and beverage industry. These aspects make the customers highly competitive. However, any form of breach of such confidential information exposes the customers to their competitors, and this may not only lead to losses regarding market share and customer base, but it also affects the competitive advantage of such organizations (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). This is an indication that the decision of investing in information security system is primary for the success of tetra Pak and its customers.
Despite the underlying need for secure systems, there are challenges associated with securing data. In a company, data can be stored in a plethora of locations such as company desktops, employee laptops, and company servers among other electronic devices. Furthermore, regular replication and movement of data from point to point within an organization, among customers, regulatory agencies and partners implies a complexity in initiating effective approaches to data security. An understanding of issues related to data vulnerabilities requires Tetra Pak to understand the overall life cycle of its important data assets. The understanding is considered possible when the company can track data from the time of its creation to its destruction, and this includes all the points of data transfer in between creation and destruction (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). When data is stored for a longer period, Tetra Pak has the responsibility of figuring out the best storage technique that enhances data security.
The information system security adopted must ensure that data stored can be accessed even after a decade when there will be changes in the system, the evolution of applications, or when the current team of managers and employees will have left the company. This requires the information security system to be integrated with sound key management and recovery techniques. Tetra Pak is currently involved in the expansion of services such that it can offer cloud base condition monitoring integrated with predictive analytics and augmented realities, and this is an indication that the company is in the process of adopting modern information technology approaches in its operations. The enterprise considered this approach to technology adoption as an important strategic step in the improvement of the quality of its service operations. Within these technological platforms, it has been efficient in storing data that is vital for its success over time. Cloud computing exposes Tetra Pak to numerous security threats related to accessibility of data. These security threats explain why it is important to develop and adopt an information security program that not only guarantees the safety of company information but also improves on the strut of company customers and suppliers on its ability to ensure continuity and effectiveness of its innovative programs.
Measures were taken by Tetra Pak
The reputation established and maintained by a company does not deter computer hackers and other malicious computer users from developing programs for unwarranted access of company information. Such unauthorized access may be damaging to the company’s reputation, affecting its ability to establish a competitive advantage and generate revenue. The management of Tetra Pak operates on the understanding that eliminating the challenge of data breaches is possible by developing a technique of grappling with balancing the risks of loss, interruption, and exploitation of profound data with the profits realized when the company is involved in storing, analyzing, and sharing information (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). For the management, in circumstances whereby the threats overshadow the possible achievements for a given set of data, the Company should refrain from engaging (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). The company also operates on the realization that striking this balance occurs over time because it requires the incorporation of many factors affecting the balance of risks and the openness of information. Authentication is one of Tetra Pak’s capabilities in addressing data vulnerabilities. For Tetra Pak, substantiation improves the integration of rules and guidelines governing the personnel capable of seeing, transforming, or otherwise accessing information. These rules are strongly related to the personality of the requestor (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). This approach enables the company to verify the identity of users, application, and devices using a suitable verification procedure, making it dire in safeguarding data within the company.
Information on company clients and innovations are considered sensitive, and therefore, there is need to protect them to ensure that only authorized personnel can access them. The company uses policy based control measures in enriching the traditional identity and roles-based access control framework. Through this access control mechanism, Tetra Pak has been able to use complex rules-based criteria that incorporate time specific restrictions of the requestor. Encryption is an additional information security measure used by Tetra Pak in securing its data. Through this technique, the company transforms data into a format that can only be understood by the intended recipient (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). The company uses encryption in situations which absolute access of data is unavoidable. The effectiveness of this technique lies in the ability of the company to incorporate Common Criteria that is a standard-based encryption product (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). The government and specialists in the security industry because of its effectiveness in protecting sensitive material recognize this product.
Digital signatures and content analysis are also risk mitigation strategies that Tetra Pak continues to employ in the mitigation data breaches. Through verifiable digital signatures, Tetra Pak has been able to incorporate verification and accountability of participation attributes which play an important role in the provision of data audit and control. Moreover, digital signatures provide Tetra Pak with the ability to detect data tampering and this allows the company to maintain data integrity (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). Content analysis is an effective tool that can help Tetra Pak in managing its data. This helps the company in developing answers to questions about the amount of sensitive data within its network. Through content analysis, it is also possible for the company to identify the location of such data before developing strategies and priorities on how such data should be protected. Content analysis, therefore, allows Tetra Pak to engage in the development sound information security programs that target relevant organizational needs (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). Such programs enable the company to identify data content that requires protection from unauthorized users.
Strategies for Improving On Information Security
An effective information security program provides a wider and holistic approach on how a company envisions keeping its data secure. It also provides an overview of the role of every part of the company in the database. The technological evolution that is characterized by gradual development implies that an information security program cannot be perceived as an incident handling guide that provides instructions on how an organization is to manage a security breach or a periodic assessment tool despite its ability to dictate when to conduct a security assessment. Additionally, a secure information program provides a definition of the data that is covered by assessing the dangers that a company faces and the plans for mitigating the threats. It also provides details of the frequency of re-evaluating and updating the program (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). The information security approach adopted by Tetra Pak can be considered effective in ensuring that sensitive data is protected from unauthorized access. However, the dynamic nature of technology and the constant desire by the company to embrace the latest technology in its operationalization implies the need of adopting a comprehensive approach to securing data that in transit or at rest (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). Through a comprehensive data security approach, the company will be able to develop a program that can be deployed to secure data throughout its lifecycle in the company.
One of the greatest challenges facing Tetra Pak lies in its inability to ensure effective protection of data stored on employee laptops, computers, and removable media. Such data is considered vulnerable, and its protection can be enhanced through the introduction of an improved information security system that provides enhanced device data security capabilities. Such a program will be integrated with stronger user authorization, authentication, and data encryption (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). Through such integration, it will be possible for the company to ensure adequate protection of confidential data and applications stored in these devices. For Tetra Pak, building security into merged applications and protecting data in the company’s records and sources can be facilitated by introducing a set of standard-based application programming. The interface that can be used by developers for prompt incorporation of data security services within the company’s devices (ITS Identity & Information Security 2013). The measure will ensure the storage of encrypted data in backend repositories.
Conclusion
Tetra Pak is a food processing and packaging solutions company established in 1959. The success of the Company is attributable to the creation of mutual relationships with its suppliers and customers. Information security threats facing the company include unauthorized access to company data which may be damaging to the company’s reputation and affect its ability to establish a competitive advantage and generate revenue. In essence, authentication, policy based control measures, access control mechanism, encryption, digital signatures, and content analysis are risk mitigation strategies that Tetra Pak continues to employ in the mitigation of data breaches. However, to improve its efficiency, the company must incorporate applications that protect data in back-end data archives and repositories.
Reference List
Tetra Pak 2011, Tetra Pak Magazine: 100 Issues of Inspiration and Knowledge.
ITS Identity & Information Security 2013, Information Security Program.