IDG Contributor Network: Security standards -- sorting through the alphabet soup

Early in my career, I worked as a systems programmer for IBM in South Florida. As everyone no doubt knows, IBM invented the acronym. There was always rumored to be an acronym dictionary available, although I was never ever to lay my hands on a copy -- if in fact it really existed. 

Understanding acronyms has become a critical part of information technology practice today, with specialized subsets for difference disciplines. This is true in particular for information security, which has more than its share, including HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX, etc. Information security is a complex discipline in itself, complicated by the alphabet soup of standards and regulations. This just adds to the intimidation no doubt felt by folks on the business side who are forced to put together an information security program that protects the business and the customer, and prevents a knock on the door by dark suits representing some regulatory body. 

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