Raj Goel (B.S. '94)

Securing Transactions, Protectıng Privacy

Since he graduated from NYIT with a degree in computer science, Raj Goel (B.S. ’94) has run his own Queens, N.Y.- based consulting business, Brainlink, which assists companies dealing with the ever-shifting demands of the Internet’s regulatory world. Since 2000, he has focused on cyber security, helping health care institutions comply with federal privacy standards and advising companies on how to protect financial data obtained from customers in online transactions.

Goel notes that while e-commerce provides substantial opportunities, it also poses threats to companies that don’t have protection in place to safeguard customers’ financial information. He says having a robust security compliance program will help protect companies from the high cost of security breaches, which could include penalties to the Federal Trade Commission or fees associated with notifying every customer that the security of their financial information has been compromised.

Contacting 10,000 customers can be costly, but so can the price of an investigation, which, in New York, for example, is passed on to the company. “If it can be shown that you’ve been negligent in your security compliance, everybody from the credit card brands to local prosecutors could come down on you,” says Goel. “If you’re the guy in the middle, you can really get hammered.” It’s just one of many challenges as NYIT alumni on the frontlines of e-commerce incorporate new technologies to reshape the 21st-century global marketplace.

David McKay Wilson is a New York-based freelance journalist and frequent contributor to the New York Times.

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