Recently I wrote a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal in response to an article about NASA’s outsourcing. It wasn’t published … probably because it may have been considered too controversial. However, here are some excerpts from the letter, which I think contain particularly pertinent points relative to the Satyam situation:
“The article by Andy Pasztor (“NASA Takes a Leap in Outsourcing,” Dec. 24, page B1) is at once enlightening and disturbing, particularly due to the potential impact on National Security. While the article does express concern over the risk of non-performance, no mention is made of security-related risks such as theft of sensitive intellectual property or embedding of malevolent code or circuitry into the delivered products …
Before embarking on outsourcing, NASA and other government agencies need to perform as complete due diligence as possible, taking into account not only performance risk, but also risks relating to information protection and National Security. Yes, it’s important to save time and money, but the apparent rush job, wherein “NASA didn’t have the luxury of waiting to choose …” might have resulted in not examining adequately other aspects of the outsourcing relationship. Security, particularly National Security, is not a luxury.”
When will management realize how much they are exposing their companies and agencies to security breaches and data compromises when entering into outsourcing arrangements for which adequate due diligence was not performed? In the end, the few dollars that are saved will not nearly compensate for the losses of information, operational continuity and reputation that might result.
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