Lieberman Software provides privileged identity management and security management solutions to more than 1000 customers worldwide, including 40 percent of the Fortune 50. By automatically discovering and managing privileged accounts everywhere on the network, Lieberman Software helps secure access to sensitive systems and data, thereby reducing internal and external security vulnerabilities, improving IT productivity and helping ensure regulatory compliance. The company developed the first solution for the privileged identity management space, and its products continue to lead this market in features and functionality. Lieberman Software is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA with an office in Austin, TX and channel partners throughout the world.

In the following interview, Philip Lieberman, President and CEO of Lieberman Software, discusses 1:1 with Rake Narang, Editor-in-Chief of Network Products Guide, the high-level approach CIOs and CSOs should take when it comes to social networks and mobile devices.

Rake Narang: Would the next world war be a cyber war?

Philip Lieberman: We are already in a worldwide cyber war against forces that include foreign powers, foreign corporate entities, anarchists, criminals and sociopaths.  The extent of serious damage to date has not affected the common man except for the periodic compromise of credit cards, identity theft and denial of service of services for both short and extended periods of time, but to date none of these interruptions of service have been life threatening…yet.

Of concern has been the leakage of national security secrets, leading edge defense designs, as well as huge amounts of intellectual property.  We are starting to see the use of this information in the creation of new industries, better products, and successful bidding by the use of inside information.

In other cases, nation states with objectives divergent to the west as well as those with dreams of a world religious theocracy are considering as well as planning the next world war in cyber space.  My guess is that they may understand that a serious attack in cyber space that causes harm to U.S. citizens will most likely result in a kinetic weapon response.  

The moment an entity actually goes beyond simple criminal, ID theft, and IP theft and escalates into permanent damage designed to physically hurt us, then the battlefield will shift from bits to bombs.  Undoubtedly those capable of such an action will act pragmatically and not pull the trigger the next step in cyber warfare.

Rake Narang: Is dependence on technology making enterprises more susceptible to a total business shut down?

Philip Lieberman: I would argue that dependence on technology and the competent use of such, makes a company more resilient and better prepared to meet market needs as well as resist business shutdown due to technology.   Hardware and software have improved immensely in the last 10 years and with the ability to host and/or back up data in the cloud makes shutdowns rare and unnecessary. 

Rake Narang: What high-level approach should CIOs and CSOs take when it comes to social networks and mobile devices?

Philip Lieberman: Executives should consider that it is their responsibility to provide the tools needed by their employees including mobile devices and data plans. Social networks can be an invaluable resource for employees and companies to provide collaboration (think LinkedIN) as well as for information sharing with customers. As to allowing employees to update their Facebook and other status every 10 minutes at work…well that is an old problem. Goofing off and not doing work at work started a long time before Facebook.

Company: Lieberman Software
1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 425,
Los Angeles, CA 90067 U.S.A.

Founded in: 1978
CEO: Philip Lieberman
Public or Private: Private
Products and Services: Lieberman Software's privileged identity management and security management products help large organizations mitigate complex IT security, reporting and auditing operations. Lieberman Software pioneered the privileged identity management space by releasing the first product to this market in 2001. Since then, the company has regularly updated and expanded its privileged password management solution set while growing its customer base in this vibrant and emerging market. Lieberman Software now has more than one thousand global customers, including over 40 percent of the Fortune 50.
Company's Goals: Building on its roots as the pioneer in the privileged password management and shared account password management space, Lieberman Software will continue to introduce new solutions to resolve the security threat of common local account credentials.