For the Boston Celtics' IT chief, one of the biggest information security challenges resembles that of many businesses: How to deal with the vulnerability of personal data, customers' credit card information and confidential email messages. The Celtics' vice president of technology, Jay Wessel, discusses some of the ways he is addressing this challenge, in an interview with CSO magazine.

The Boston Celtics transmit a lot of sensitive data via email, including proposals from sponsors, terms for contracts and information about trades. Many of the coaches travel with MacBook Pros because coaching applications fit well with Apple computers, Wessel said. A side benefit is that the computers are susceptible to fewer attacks than alternative machines, at least for now. To further minimize the risk of malware, they use Firefox and Safari browsers, he said.

Another step Wessel said he's taken to improve the organization's information security is migrating to some cloud-based services. The team's staff uses a variety of devices, including iPhones, iPads and Blackberries, so part of the security strategy is to keep the focus on the email itself. A cloud-based service filters all the mail, scans it for malicious programs and stores it in an archive before sending it to the Celtics' server.

For more:
- read an interview with Celtics' CIO at CSO

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