Something Else to Blame on Outsourcing

Filed in archive Outsourcing Pros and Cons on October 5, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Shawn Gearhart

In a recent article, SF Gate reported that outsourcing is "partly to blame" in many data thefts. Citing security "data sleuths" at Verizon Communications, Inc., the article describes a "typical" case, where an employee of an outsourcer was found to have used a customer credit card.

What is troubling about this article is the headline, "Outsourcing blamed in many data thefts" which is not really supported by the substance of the article, which indicates that outsourcing is sometimes involved, but certainly neither always nor in a majority (or even significant) amount of time.

With outsourcing being one of the poster-children for the cause of job loss, inflammatory headlines like this will get noticed. However, SF Gate should know enough to ensure that the assertion is backed up by sufficient facts - and should provide some more specificity in such facts, before tagging the story with an obviously inflammatory headline.