Sustainability and IT security: mitigate technology risks via a green approach

The increasing digitalization of our societies including workplaces and companies poses huge responsibilities on organizations from two different perspectives: 1. making sure these companies are protected against technology risks, and 2. being socially and environmentally responsible while mitigating any technology-related risks. It may look like a dilemma as when trying to protect themselves, companies need to invest in technologies and digital tools that may be polluting (increasing companies' CO2 emissions footprint)! The challenge is to find ways to reconcile these two worlds: sustainability and IT security. This research tries to analyze these two worlds and come up with a green approach to protect companies from technology risks. The focus is on IT functions such as Network, Distributed, and Workplace, the latest captures most of the attention as studies such as the one conducted by McKinsey, suggest that the end-user devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones, printers, etc.) are the CO2 biggest emitters, surpassing the other IT functions, they are also the more vulnerable to technology and digital risks. The other question that arises is how to ensure that the commitment to both IT security and environmental protection does not remain a corporate issue (by management) but becomes a practice popularized among employees. That is why, the proposed green approach aims also to show that in companies, small actions can greatly contribute to the protection of the environment, focusing on the use of digital collaboration tools (digital Workplace). The green approach is based on 3 pillars: engaging through actions, engaging through cause & and culture change, and engaging through results.