Goal of this Blog (AKA Mission Statement)
I joke that when I was in school getting a M.S. in Cyber Security, all it really did was make me more paranoid (and my wife hesitated to take me to parties for fear I would talk off everyone's ears on the subject), but the reality is, I have a sense of peace concerning what I know, and what I can control. "Ignorance is bliss", as the saying goes; just a whiff of knowledge about the scary underbelly of the world in which I work could give even the most stoic an anxiety attack. Even on the surface, we experience a constant stream of news about companies getting breached and foreign governments acquiring your private information. I think we need to just acknowledge that there is something very violating about knowing some miscreants out there know your birthday, social security number, home address, email, and other personal information.
My mom recently asked me what they should do after a recent banking breach, which saw the personal information of customers stolen en mass. I chuckled a little and told her "nothing... most of that information is already up for sale on the dark web."
She then asked the million-dollar question: "Then what is the point?"
My response? "There are still meaningful ways to protect yourself and practice good Cyber Security Hygiene."
Her next question was simply, “how?”
You should be asking that too, if you aren’t already. I’m writing this blog to tell you what I see from my vantage point. I DO NOT WANT YOU TO DESPAIR! Granted, there are plenty of things that can go wrong.... but there are good practices that you can develop now that will improve your "Cyber Security Hygiene" (get used to the phrase, I'm going to use it a lot) and give you an improved sense of agency over your cyber footprint in today's interconnected world.
Ready?
Then let's begin!