Scams & shams: The trouble with social networks

Rentschler says IT needs to educate colleagues in marketing about risks. If IT sees a problem and fixes it without telling anyone, "no one else will know what to look out for," she warns.

IT needs to push back more when marketing plans can jeopardize brand security. It must, for example, fight pressure to rush Web site changes through without thorough security checks. "I don't think IT does a good job of saying, 'Here's all of the IT issues with the brand upkeep,' " Rentschler says.

With so much online turf to monitor and so much activity in cyberspace, it's important to prioritize. Lynn Goodendorf, global head of data privacy at U.K.-based InterContinental Hotels Group, says she tries to focus on sensitive, confidential data. But even there, you have to have realistic goals. "Mitigate your largest exposures," she says, "but don't think you can mitigate it down to zero."