Unfortunately, many of life's lessons tend to come from the most unexpected places. You have to read between the lines, figure out hidden meaning, and then speculate as to the helpful tidbits you can take with you. Then, there are times like this one, when the lesson is crystal clear, and builds on something most of us have heard since childhood.
As the old nursery rhyme goes, there was a rather fragile individual that found himself perched, quite high and precariously, on a wall. As luck would have it, he fell. To which extent no one could assemble the wreckage that now was Humpty Dumpty.
As IT professionals we need to take pause here for a moment, and think about what we are doing. We need to ask legitimate and serious questions about how and why such fragile information is placed in such precarious places. Not to mention, with such a high likelihood of failure, we should reevaluate exactly who even needs access to certain information. In a sense, once we have determined it is an absolute necessity for Humpty to be up on that wall, we need to make sure we've taken steps for prevention, as well as reaction.
Inevitably, we must learn that simply throwing resources at something after the fact doesn't tend to fix anything. Education can play a much larger role, as many people still don't understand the exposure and importance of protecting (and not reusing) passwords - even in organizations that specialize in just that. Think of it as making sure that all the kings men, and maybe even the horses, were trained to spot Humpty up on the wall, talk him down if necessary, but more importantly be prepared for when he does fall.
Finally, we can't dismiss the value of having the right tools to both prevent issues, and react to them (sometimes simultaneously). The best place to start is with consistent and constant monitoring of changes. If this area of ITSM is a bit new to you, check out our video covering an introduction to Change Management. Filmed in partnership with the experts at Pink Elephant, you will get an introduction to ITIL, and see the demonstrable value behind adding Change Management to your IT organization, in just a little over 20 minutes.
