It’s a terrifying prospect. A company or government agency is the victim of a cyber attack, data breach, or improper dissemination of confidential materials.
Employees count on electronic communications for information sharing and financial transactions. That’s why the Postal Service™ aggressively protects customer and employee data by employing a relentless internal weapon — the Corporate Information Security Office (CISO).
“CISO’s purpose is to design, manage, and operate a world-class information security program to protect the Postal Service brand,” says Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President Ellis Burgoyne.
CISO’s security responsibilities include everything from monitoring email to securing sensitive information and safeguarding connections between USPS networks.
How effective is CISO? According to 2012 figures, CISO’s efforts have helped prevent the following threats each month:
n More than 257 billion unauthorized attempts to access the USPS® network.
n 66,734 attempts to distribute credit card information.
n 345,342 attempts to disseminate Social Security numbers.
n 1,278 attempts to expose USPS-issued credit card transactions.
As diligent as CISO is, it also depends on employees to help meet USPS security goals. “Information security is the cornerstone of maintaining public trust,” says CISO Manager Chuck McGann. “From the computer to the mailbox, we depend on every employee to secure the information we hold, whether it’s a card, letter, package, or data file.”
— Corporate Information Security Office,
Chief Information Officer, 4-4-13
