One common misconception about security is that you go out and buy a security program and install it on your computer, and that the security software will keep you safe. It would be really nice if that was all that was necessary. But security is a lot more than just installing a security program.
As we saw through the month of October with the 31 security “tips,” security involves a lot more than something a single piece of software can address. Security software is an important part of the solution. But it is nowhere near sufficient to keep you safe.
Some of the things we talked about during National Cyber Security Awareness Month were:
* Misleading promises made by marketers (some of them fully believe they can deliver on those promises but don’t realize there are limitations)
* Power failures and lightning strikes (that can destroy data and/or equipment)
* Common human error (forgetting to save a file, deleting something)
* Criminals (who have added the use of computers and electronic communications to their arsenal in order to steal, extort, commit fraud, and ….)
* Features that enable ease of use and automation also result in additional risks. Lowering the risks may result in less convenience. Some people will find loss of convenience unacceptable.
* Security solutions that sound good but overlook important factors and don’t fully address the risks (e.g., the new chip credit cards; “remote wipe”).
* Sometimes, security is sacrificed in favor of profitability (app builders).
Many of these are not the kinds of things that security software can address. Some of these can be addressed by security software but humans who own the systems will find a way around them, often for the sake of convenience. In addition, criminals on a mission to conduct their crime will find a way around them. For a considerable number of reasons, security software is only part of the solution.
One of the main points I want you to take away from last month’s posts (in addition to learning a few specific things) is that keeping safe means you will need to become more aware and continue to learn more over the years. I am not suggesting you become an “expert.” Nor am I suggesting you undertake an extensive study in the field of security. For anyone who wishes to do that, great! I would be happy to discuss that with you.
However, for all the rest of you, I want you to learn a little bit at a time on an ongoing basis. I will be offering a way to do that which will be inexpensive, easy, and (hopefully) may even be fun at times. But, whether or not you learn from me, I want you to learn from somebody.
Again, security has no “silver bullet.” There is no single solution. There is no solution that will be able to address all you need to know and to do in order to remain safe, apart from the ongoing process of keeping up with the changing security environment. As we have seen, some of those threats extend beyond the cyber world into the real world and may affect your health and safety.
If we want to be informed about world events, we don’t watch the news for one day and then decide that we know all there is to know from then on. If you want to be informed of world events, you watch the news, or read the paper, or follow it online, on an ongoing basis. In the world of security, the world of threats and what we need to know to keep safe continue to evolve, and the same ongoing process is required. That is the closest solution we have to remaining safe.
Without this knowledge, more than likely, most of us will be lucky a lot of the time. But, it only takes one time to make you wish you’d taken it more seriously. Maybe it would be loss of data, maybe identity theft, or maybe just the cost and inconvenience of not being able to use your computer until it gets fixed or replaced. Don’t forget that, for a great many people, their computer will be compromised and will be used to attack other people or carry out other criminal activities, without them ever finding out that they are enabling these activities to occur by remaining unaware.
So, the first “theme” I want you to take away from the past month’s tips is that security has a lot of pieces and that a lot of remaining safe depends upon you learning more about it.
If I needed to boil it all down into one word, that word would be
That is what I wish for you.