What Businesses can learn from the Wikileaks Scandal
November 30th, 2010
Social Media has changed the rules and the way today’s global society manages information forever. The current Wikileaks scandal, besides a very hard lesson on radical transparency for diplomats around the world, is another good example of how social technologies deliver on a fundamental promise: to empower people who gather online to share information, knowledge and opinions using conversational media. Diplomatic and ethical implications aside, let’s take a look at the Wikileaks operational model:
- The website lives from the anonymous submissions from informants around the world via a supposedly secure online form that feeds a data bank, the “wiki”.
- Founder Julian Assange and company review the confidential submissions.
- Information is repackaged into multimedia presentations and encrypted before been published on the Web, still guaranteeing their sources complete anonymity.
- Associated press such as Le Monde, The New York Times and El País are granted password-protected access to all files.
The WikiLeaks model is completely based on web 2.0 concepts such as wikis, information sharing, user-generated content (UGC) and online communities, but it shows us a glimpse of the challenges that lie ahead in terms of information security and risk management, not only for individuals and businesses, but for governments as well. The natural evolution of web technologies and the future of cloud-based information is redefining the nature of information sharing as we know it, but you can start building the foundations for secure, responsible information sharing in your company today.
HOW TO GET STARTED
1) Open an information sharing discussion to all. To get everyone on board they must be included in the discussion to share points of view and become part of the solution. When people are invited to participate and clearly understand the importance of information sharing and their responsibility within their area of influence, technical and procedural controls adoption resistance disappears.
2) Create an information sharing strategy for your entire organization. As part of your information architecture and ECM practices create a strategy specifically for information sharing to address all the risks and opportunities associated with this new reality. Strategy-based initiatives deliver the best results by aligning people, technology and processes.
3) Use established relationships and foster new ones to promote collaboration. True collaboration between business units and departments grows from personal relationships. Getting people in the room to work together and get to know one another on a human level can take some time, but once that happens, it becomes about trust and looking at the world as a place for collaboration, rather than maintaining control.
4) Provide incentives. Employees should be rewarded when they participate in information sharing initiatives and penalized when they don’t. Incentives have proven to be participation boosters to keep people engaged and gain personal commitment.
5) Learn from past experiences. There are enough past experiences to learn from and proactively prepare your organization for potential problems related to information sharing practices gone wrong. Use those learned lessons to your advantage.
6) Educate your team. Employees should be trained in secure methods of data exchange and update that knowledge regularly. Education is the main proactive response to tackle information sharing problems effectively.
7) Share responsibly. As a rule of thumb before sharing any type of sensitive information ponder the potential consequences. If in doubt, don’t send it.
Everything in life has two sides and the Social Web is no exception. Today more than ever “what happens in Vegas, now stays…on the Internet”, so be careful of what you do, and of what you say, and whom you say it to, because the world is listening. Always keep in mind the risks associated with online information sharing and like your Mom used to tell you when you were a kid “be open, honest and good at all times” because you never know when and where that piece of sensitive information can show up in the future.
REFERENCES
- The Huffington Post
- “Radically Transparent” by Andy Beal and Dr. Judy Strauss
- Wikipedia
Ernesto Sosa is Principal at SOWEB Inc. and leads the marketing consulting practice. You can follow him on Twitter @ernestososa and connect with him on LinkedIn.
This site has a lot good information on it, I check on it every few hours. Its absolutley unthinkable whats going on in the world, it seems like we are about to decimate ourselves through our own advancement of technologies. When will we all begin to work together instead of against eachother? Money makes the world go around and the more people getting lazy and not doing anything, the more our society as a whole becomes degraded. Lets get up and make something happen!
Why don’t we teach this education in schools? This could really work.
Interesting article, thanks!
Thank you for another great article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such information.