CIO View: Don't outsource your security

Business security is a serious business. When it comes to large companies that hold a lot of valuable data, any security breach can mean a loss of credibility and thus customers.

Cesare Tizi ZDNet Australia CIO of the Year 2007, and former chief information officer at Australia's largest energy supplier AGL Energy, spoke to ZDNet Australia about the importance of keeping security in-house.

In this exclusive video interview, Tizi comments that "one of the big risks ... is that you carry a lot of credit cards in your system. This means the risk associated with someone gaining access to this information is very high."

So "you have to take it seriously" said Tizi. "In all the IT teams I have had I have never outsourced security...I tell my IT teams that they are privileged people". Tizi claims he always has his head of security reporting directly to him.

Since no security system is fool proof, Tizi recommends "making the business aware of what to do if you have a breach, and making a plan."