Are You Really Ready?

Yes, we all need to be more prepared for the stuff that happens. However, in my humble opinion, we also need to accept that these storms (and the destruction and chaos they cause) are to a great extent self-inflicted. Based on evidence published and validated over and over again by some of the best scientists worldwide, I think it’s all too clear that global warming is directly to blame for higher temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the world’s oceans. This, of course, results in more storms and hurricanes like the devastating Katrina, as well as crazy weather all over the planet. In years to come, I expect that we’ll see higher ocean levels and our coastal cities fighting to keep back the water. More of our coastal cities are destined to be fortressed from the sea like New Orleansbelow sea level.

Of course, those with ulterior motives might think and say otherwise. Those who want to continue to depend on fossil fuels and the profits they bring will think and say otherwise. Those politicians whose pockets are lined by the companies in those oil-, coal-, and gas-producing states will say otherwise. Unfortunately, those desperately poor people in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama whose homes and possessions are under water or torn to toothpicks might see this from a different point of view.

We Were Awakened Before

As far as what we can do to prepare for disaster, we in the IT industry know what to door at least we should after we were awakened from our slumber by 9/11. After seeing the bastion of the twin towers and the infrastructure they held collapse into dust in a matter of seconds, most companies decided that more needed to be done to protect themselves and their data. Thanks to the media, I expect we’ll see these buildings crumble in slow-motion replays at every opportunity. The media seems to think that it’s necessary to keep showing us those businesses and people being so horribly lost along with their data and (in some cases) their backup dataas if we can ever forget.

What Can You Do As A Developer?

As IT developers, we share in the responsibility to protect the data and the assets we manage. It’s not just the job of IT management or someone else. Each of us needs to take personal responsibility. Each of us needs to clearly understand that these records we store in databases are often not ours or the company’s; they belong to the people that we call customers. These customers are real people like your spouse, your kids, or your third cousin in Kansas. When this data is lost or compromised, sold, leaked, or simply stolen, the company rarely pays the price. It’s the customer who pays.

When our systems are disabled or destroyed, it’s the customer who can’t draw out his savings to buy medicine, food, and water or to hold off another bank demanding payment. It’s the customer who is trying to get a hospital to treat his injured children but can’t prove that he has insurance or the money to pay. It’s the customer whose identity was stolen and spends years trying to rebuild his good name and credit. These are the real people who are hurt.

Some Aren’t Listening Or Don’t Care

All too often I see Web sites and applications exposed by companies large and small that clearly have not heard and heeded the message. Their sites have not taken the basic steps to prevent SQL injection or otherwise protect their customer’s assets. I would list them here, but that would further compromise their customers’ security. We hear of companies selling or not protecting private and sensitive customer information. If the government wasn’t so busy discounting the science behind global warming and spending countless billions of dollars on war, it might have a few million to spend on making sure that companies large and small protect your and my information and assets.

We as IT developers need to think about these issues when we choose to ignore advice about database security or measures we can take to make sure the data is protected and backed up and that systems are available to fill in when the primary systems are under 19 feet of water.

Another thing we can all do is let the politicians know that we need an energy policy that gets us free from fossil fuels so we aren’t held hostage by the fossil fuel companies. We’ll have an excellent opportunity to do just that in early November.