Text 4 It never rains but it pours. Just as bosses and boards have finally sorted out th

Text4

Itneverrainsbutitpours.Justasbossesandboardshavefinallysortedouttheirworstaccountingandcompliancetr oubles，andimprovedtheirfeeblecorporationgovernance，anewproblemthreatenstoearnthem-especiallyinAmerica-thesortofnastyheadlinesthatinevitablyleadtoheadsrollingintheexecutivesuite：datainsecurity.Left，untilnow，toodd，low-levelITstafftoputr ight，andseenasaconcernonlyofdata-richindustr iessuchasbanking，telecomsandairtr avel，informationprotectionisnowhighontheboss'sagendainbusinessesofeveryvariety.

Severalmassiveleakagesofcustomerandemployeedatathisyear-fromorganizationsasdiverseasTimeWarner，theAmericandefensecontr actorScienceApplicationsInternationalCorpandeventheUniversityofCalifornia.Berkeley-haveleftmanagershurriedlypeeringintotheirintr icate11systemsandbusinessprocessesinsearchofpotentialvulnerabilities.

“Dataisbecominganassetwhichneedsnobeguardedasmuchasanyotherasset.”saysIamMendelsonofStanfordUniversity'sbusinessschool“Theabilityguardcustomerdataisthekeytomarketvalue，whichtheboardisresponsibleforonbehalfofshareholders”Indeed，justasthereistheconceptofGenerallyAcceptedAccountingPrinciples（GAAP）.perhapsitistimeforGASP.GenerallyAcceptedSecurityPractices，suggestedEliNoamofNewYork'sColumbiaBusinessSchool.“Settingtheproperinvestmentlevelforsecurity，redundancy，andrecoveryisamanagementissue，notatechnicalone.”hesays.

Themysteryisthatthisshouldcomeasasurprisetoanyboss.Surelyitshouldbeobvioustothedimmestexccutivethattr ust，thatmostvaluableofeconomicassets，iseasilydestr oyedandhugelyexpensivetorestore-andthatfewthingsaremorelikelytodestr oytr ustthanacompanylettingsensitivepersonaldatagetintothewronghands.

Thecurrentstateofaffairsmayhavebeenencouraged-thoughnotjustified-bythelackoflegalpenalty（inAmerica，butnotEurope）fordataleakage.UntilCaliforniarecentlypassedalaw.Americanfirmsdidnothavetotellanyone，eventhevictim，whendatawentastr ay，Ihatmaychangefastlotsofproposeddata-securitylegislationnowdoingtheroundsinWashington.D.C.Meanwhile.thetheftofinformationaboutsome40millioncredit-cardaccountsinAmerica，disclosedonJune17th.overshadowedahugelyimportantd ecisionadayearlierbyAmerica'sFederalTradeCommission（FTC）thatputscorporateAmericaonnoticethatr egulatorswillactiffirmsfailtoprovideadequatedatasecurity.

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36.Thestatement：“Itneverrainsbutitpours”isusedtointr oduce

[A]thefiercebusinesscompetition.

[B]thefeebleboss-boardrelations

[C]thethreatfromnewsreports.

[D]theseverityofdataleakage.