![]() As a stopgap measure, cybersecurity works. You can say cybersecurity in a mixed audience and not get groans or a rolling of the eyes by the more grizzled security veterans. The least worst current option - cybersecurityĪn acceptable compromise, and one that seems to strike a happy medium, is the term many use to-date, “cybersecurity.” Don’t worry about if it’s one word, two, or hyphenated, it has the word “cyber” in it for the Feds, and “security” in it for most of the commercial types. Related terms, like information protection and network security are similarly dated and also too narrow in scope. It might have worked then, when the scope was purely about the security of information, but not now. Information security, or InfoSec for short, is seemingly hopelessly stuck in the 90’s. If cyber does a poor job describing what we do, certainly older, well-trodden names are no better. Those same folks who have actually been shot at might not be able to stomach the term and you might get your nose punched by a Navy SEAL in a bar talking about how you DDos’ed someone. As an ex-Air Force Information Warfare Center alumni I’ve never been quite comfortable with the term. Fighter pilots, infantry officers, and naval officers may not understand what it is, but they do know it might prevent them from getting shot at. In the military, the term “cyber” has been adopted to mean all things that don’t blow up bad guys. There is the practical matter that there are so many instances where the term is baked into government code, into signage, into doctrine that a simple name change would cost taxpayers billions. They are comfortable with the term, they use it in conversation without wincing, and would likely be a willing adoptive parent. To that end, I would humbly submit the following observations and suggestions for further discussion. ![]() It’s in our best interest to have a better term before someone finds a worse term to describe our industry and what we do. So I’m on the frontline, like all of us who read Dark Reading. I answer questions that range from smartphone security, to when to update one’s Window’s box, to how best to select hard-to-crack passwords. Like Johnny Appleseed, I dispense solicited advice at cocktail parties, family reunions, and at my daughter’s soccer game. That’s how I self-identify, and that’s how people know me. But after my first, and possibly snarkier, response trailed off, I thought serious discourse about the use of the word “cyber” was needed.īy background, I’ve been a security guy for nearly 20 years. ![]() This fact was driven home to me earlier in the year when a non-security guy stated emphatically, “John, you know it’s not just about cyber, right? It’s about cyber, big data, and cloud?” My initial response was to suggest he add mobile and DevOps, then he would have every buzzword in IT covered. As Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery groups state, admitting you have a problem is the first step towards recovery. ![]()
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