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The most dangerous enemy sits in my chair
The most dangerous enemy sits in my chair
Dr. Tomäs Rehäk, Director ofthe Central Public Library of Prague
Abstract
To make our data safer might be quite a cheap task. The most common security flaws are
usually quite easy to identify, however sometimes very difficult to remove because they are
deeply mounted to our habits and corporate culture.
Something about MLP
Municipal Library of Prague (www.mlp .cz) is the biggest public library in Czech Republic .
Well, the National Library has got bigger stocks but from all other points ofview we are the
biggest one.
MLP started to flirt with computers quite soon . Since 1982 all the new book records have
been stored into computers . We have developed our own library system called Koniäs, which
we have been operating since 1997. We have quite strong IT division staffed with more then
14 full-time-equivalents . And they are very capable indeed with some members of the team
being real stars.
Something about myself
I have been Municipal Library of Prague Managing Director since July 2002 . However I have
been in MLP since 1992, starting as IT specialist, then head ofIT department and later deputy
director. I graduated at Charles University in Prague at Faculty of Mathematics, Department
of Probability and Mathematical Statistics. Because of my education my approach to IT has
never been really technical and having been for few years out of IT business gives me a kind
ofdistance. I am no longer really IT skilled man, but I still understand basic principles behind
the scenes . And I have had responsibility for system security for many years . At the beginning
that was administrator responsibility, nowadays it is managerial one. And all that together
gives me fine point of view for my attempt to describe some general principles about system
security .
Foreword
The aim of this presentation is just to share few thoughts how to make our data safer. I will
give no really new bright ideas . All I will speak about are common and well known
principles. May be they are so common and plain that we quite often forget to follow them . . .
Before we get into different dangers which jeopardize our data and before we start to discuss
how to challenge those dangers, let's start with one very simple principle :
A chain is just as strong as its weakest link.
here? Okay, let's have few examples .
Simple enough? Too obvious to mention it
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