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You Don’t Know Me

Let’s cut through the bullshit. You don’t know me, and I don’t know you.

Here’s why this is important; despite us not knowing each other, I will judge you and you will judge me. This is human nature. We make our judgements based on information we have available and our own historical perspective (or world view). Judgement might not be overt, but you and I are always engaging in making judgements. You might think this is a bad thing, but it’s not. Judgement, by itself, is nothing more than:

  • the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing
  • an opinion or estimate so formed
  • the capacity for judging: discernment
  • a proposition stating something believed or asserted

Judgement is good. When you judge me or I you, this could be a good thing; however, it’s only good without bias (unlikely).

Bias is a one-sided, closed-minded, and destructive mindset. Bias doesn’t discriminate, but it leads to discrimination. Look at the definitions of “bias”, “racism”, and “discrimination” for a second.

We can conclude that judgement is good, bias (and racism and discrimination) is bad.

The point

You don’t know me; therefore, if you were to judge me, what would your judgment be based on? If you don’t get to know me, you’d have to judge based on superficial things like how I look, the vehicle(s) I drive, how I dress, etc.

What if I told you these things about me?

  • I’m white/Caucasian.
  • I’m a man.
  • I have a long beard.
  • I drive an F250 pickup truck.
  • I drive a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
  • I live in a small town.
  • I have a good job.
  • I am licensed to carry a firearm.
  • I go to church every Sunday.

Would you think that I’m some sort of right-wing nut job? Would you treat me like one?

How about you? Let’s say:

  • You’re black/African American.
  • You’re a man.
  • You look “normal”, but you’re not clean shaven.
  • You’re middle-aged.
  • You’ve never been married.
  • You have plenty of money.
  • You wear nice clothes.
  • You drive nice sports cars.
  • You didn’t graduate high school.
  • You grew up in New Orleans

Would I think you’re a drug dealer, a thug, or involved in some sort of criminal activity? Would I treat you like you were?

God, I hope not!

In both cases, these judgements are 100% wrong! Like not even close. The judgements are wrong because they are biased.

Me, I am not some right-wing whacko. I despise most of what they stand for and I would never consider doing some of the things they do. Despite this, I can see how someone would mistake me for one. I look the way I look and like the things I like because I do. That’s it, nothing more and nothing less. I hate hatred in all its forms and have a genuinely deep love for people. I don’t just love people like me either, I love people from all walks, all backgrounds, and all beliefs. People who aren’t like me fascinate me.

About the only time I don’t love people is when I must share the road with them, but I’m told that’s sort of normal(ish).

The second person I referenced is Tyler Perry. He is an amazing man with an incredibly inspiring story. Rising from where he did to where he is now is a miraculous journey. He’s impacted thousands (maybe millions) of people across the globe with his works and his story. If you don’t know his story, I’d suggest you read up on him. He grew from a very troubled youth (shitty father figure, attempted suicide, child molestation, etc.) to become a tremendously successful actor, writer, producer, comedian, and director. In my opinion, he’s one of the most inspiring men alive today.

So, again, bias is bad. Put your bias to death as much as you are able.

What to work on

Here are some of the things I will work on to kill my own bias. I can’t change the world, but I can work on me. Here’s my pledge (to myself as much as anyone else):

  1. I will give people the benefit of the doubt. If I don’t know something to be true, instead or going the shitty route, I’ll take the good path in my thoughts and feelings toward others.
  2. I will seek other people’s perspectives. I don’t know what it’s like to be someone else. A person’s perspective is their reality. Understanding their reality and validating it where possible will go a long way towards killing my own biases.
  3. I will listen to people more. We’re all quick to offer advice and stories about the things we’re passionate about. I’ll do better at hearing these things from other people. Who knows, maybe I’ll learn a bunch.
  4. I will embrace the uniqueness in people. We all belong to people groups, either by birth or by choice. Despite whatever people group we belong to, there are beautifully unique things about each one of us. I want to discover the unique gifts in people and embrace them.
  5. I seek to change people and/or their minds less. You have your beliefs and I have mine. We can each be us.
  6. I’ll be a friend to anyone. This doesn’t mean there aren’t boundaries. All relationships have them, even friendships.
  7. I’ll work to find common ground. You’re not me and I’m not you. You believe certain things and so do I. We’re both human beings and if we can’t find anything more common than that, so be it. We’ll start there.

These are seven things that I’ll work on. I said it earlier, I don’t know you, so I can’t suggest the things you should work on. Only you can determine these things, and (probably) only after deep, honest introspection.

I truly love people, and it saddens me to see us hurt each other like we do.

The UNSECURITY Podcast – Episode 72 Show Notes – COVID-19

Hi everyone. We’re hoping and praying for everyone’s health and mental well-being right now. Take care of what really matters, yourself and your loved ones.

Episode 72 of the UNSECURITY Podcast will be dedicated to continued discussion about COVID-19 and what the pandemic means, in our daily lives and in our vocation as information security people. It’s the topic on everyone’s mind, so to not talk about it seems a little tone deaf.

Before we get to the show notes (below), I’d like to highlight a few things going on around here.

One Word

What one word would you use to describe your past week? If you’re a Twitterer, let us know by tweeting your word with the hashtag #UNSECURITYoneword. Be sure to include us (@evanfrancen and @bradnigh) in the conversation.

Not Adjusted Yet

Not sure about you, but I haven’t adjusted yet. I’m an introvert, so I was expecting to thrive in isolation. I was wrong (for now). I was surprised to learn how much personal interaction really means to me.

Everything seemed different this past week and I was definitely a little off my game. I had trouble focusing on tasks and struggled with processing events occurring all around me. Nothing made sense at times.

On Tuesday (3/17) we (FRSecure and SecurityStudio) closed the offices, and by the next day, almost everyone was online and functionally working from home. Since there was nobody at the office, I decided to work from there.

The empty office was quiet. Too quiet. The quiet forced me to realize how social we are in our office. Every (normal) day is like a family get together. A family get together where everybody actually likes each other.

In a quiet office there are no dumb office jokes. No laughter. No smiles. No fist bumps. A quiet office is just filled with empty. Our office was filled with empty and me. It was a eerie and it was lonely.

I’m assuming the adjustment will just take time. Between now and then, let’s all keep our head up and look for ways to help others. Helping others can be a great coping mechanism!

The Pledge

Also on Tuesday, I wrote a pledge and posted it on LinkedIn. This pledge is one that I plan to live by, especially now.

My pledge:

  • I will NOT panic.
  • I will NOT give in to fear.
  • I WILL think things through.
  • I WILL make prudent decisions based upon the best (non-biased) information available.
  • I WILL be the person I’ve always been and learn to be better.
  • I WILL help my fellow humans whenever and however I can, putting my family first.
  • I will NOT use this (or anything else) to take advantage of people, and
  • I will NEVER put someone in danger if I can help it.

coronavirus panic fear think prudence decisions learning helpingpeople

What Else

We did a lot this past week.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Information Security Webinar(s)

In the midst of the chaos, we decided to put together a last minute webinar for Wednesday (3/18) afternoon.  Our motivation for the webinar was to help people and bring calm to the storm. Despite last minute arrangements and everything else going on, we had ~250 people come to the first session. Participation and interaction was more than we expected! There were many unanswered questions after the first session, so we decided to do a second session on Friday (3/20).

The topics we discussed were:

  • Introductions.
  • Before we get started.
    • #1 – The current state of affairs.
    • #2 – My pledge.
    • #3 – FRSecure Open Letter.
    • #4 – Ideas we’re kicking around.
  • Topics:
    • What is the impact of COVID-19 on information security?
    • How to securely shift employees to remote work during social distancing.
    • Some of the current social engineering scams around COVID-19 and how to avoid them.
    • How to create or adjust your business’s disaster recovery plan.
  • Where to go if/when you need help.

I’ve posted a copy of the presentation online for everyone.

Virtual Happy Hours

Our team started doing virtual happy hours on Thursday. Every organization should do these! We all get into an online Zoom meeting and hangout for a while. We share. We laugh. We joke. We smile. We love. These are amazing experiences that are healthy and good for the soul.

I prefer to sit and listen most of the time. Just taking it in. The sounds of my team laughing, their smiles, their dumb jokes (like really dumb), and sharing our day together are beyond magical. The joy these guys bring to my day is the best way to end it!

The Daily inSANITY Check-in

Nobody has this thing figured out and nobody has it all together.

We want to help, so we’re starting the Daily inSANITY Check-in webinar series. The purpose of the Daily inSANITY Check-in is to provide a safe place for people to discuss current events, information security things, challenges we’re facing, or whatever else comes to mind. The check-ins are short (30- to- 60-minute) daily meetings with discussion. People are always free to come and go as they please.

This is new, and we’re just getting started. Don’t expect all the kinks to be worked out day one. Visit the registration page for the full description and to signup.

K12 Cybersecurity Podcast

Good news! Our buddy Ryan Cloutier just released the first episode of the K12 Cybersecurity Podcast. His first episode is awesome! It’s so much better than our first UNSECURITY Podcast. In this episode, Ryan’s special guest is Amy McLaughlin. Amy is the Information Services Director at Oregon State University and cybersecurity project director for the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN).

This was a timely and well done episode. I recommend you subscribe to Ryan’s K12 Cybersecurity Podcast and get ready for more great content!

Pretty sure I forgot something, but that’s all for now. Let’s do a podcast (or something)!


SHOW NOTES – Episode 72

Date: Monday, March 23rd, 2020

Show Topics:

  • Opening
    • The week that was.
    • The week that is to come.
  • COVID-19
    • Priorities, and where does information security fit?
      • Mental and Physical Health
      • Yourself and Your Loved Ones
      • Business – Survival
    • The Bass and The Barracuda
      • Don’t be a bass. Be a barracuda.

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Opening

[Evan] Hello listeners, this is another episode of the UNSECURITY Podcast. My name is Evan Francen, this is episode 72, and the date is March 23rd, 2020. Joining me in studio is my buddy Brad Nigh. Good morning Brad!

[Brad] If it’s a good morning for Brad, we’ll know by how he responds.

[Evan] Last week was nuts. You and I hardly had a chance to connect with all that’s going on, so we’re a little out of sorts. This would normally be your week to lead the podcast, but since we didn’t really connect, I’m hosting again. Hope that’s OK.

[Brad] He’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. He’s probably OK with this.

[Evan] We’ve got a lot to talk about this week. Top of mind or course is COVID-19 and what the pandemic is doing to our daily lives. Sort of hard to talk about much else right now, right?

[Brad] He might agree.

[Evan] Last week was crazy. Let’s talk about the week that was and then talk a little about what’s coming this week.

Catching Up Discussion

Discussing last week’s events and what we’re expecting this week.

[Evan] Alright, there has never been anything in my lifetime that’s been as disruptive as the COVID-19 pandemic. I sort of feel like we’d be tone deaf if we didn’t keep up the conversation.

COVID-19 Discussion

Our topics this week include:

  • Priorities, and where does information security fit?
    • Mental and Physical Health
    • Protecting Yourself and Your Loved Ones
    • Business – Survival
  • The Bass and The Barracuda
  • Another plug for S2Me.
  • Next Week:
    • Maybe a guest; it’s been a while.
    • What happens on the other side?
    • Daily inSANITY Check-in Update
    • What we’re doing to help.

[Evan] The world has hardly seemed any crazier than it is today. Do all you can to maintain (or restore) your health. Good talk. Now let’s get to some non-COVID-19-related news.

News

[Evan] Alright, let’s talk about a non-coronavirus story (or two or three). Remember, attacks aren’t going to stop. In fact, they are increasing and are expected to continue to increase. Don’t ever put anything past or too low for the lowest among us.

Here’s two news stories to consider this week:

Closing

[Evan] There you have it. Episode 72. Thank you for listening. We’re wishing everything health and sanity! Remember, we love hearing from you. If you’ve got something to say, email us at unsecurity@protonmail.com. If you would rather do the whole social thing, we tweet like that. I’m @evanfrancen, and Brad’s @BradNigh. Check out @studiosecurity and @FRSecure frequently. They’re always posting good things!

Be safe. That’s it. Talk to you all again next week!