Security Ripcord

Yes, I was not at RSA 2008 this year. Although I could have probably received a press pass like last year I would have had to shell out every dime for travel and storage….err, lodging myself. Not an option. So, I stayed put and watched from the virtual side lines. This means I may have missed the event of the year by not attending the Security Blogger Meetup (come on…how many parties have a live feed outside of PDC?). Such is the life of a person who works for a small, cost/benefit conscious, contracting company. I know there are plenty of us out there so that is enough sniveling.

Of course it is always good to be missed and Michael Farnum took a little time out to let me know that I was missed this year.

Don,

A couple of people at RSA asked me why you weren’t blogging and asked me to
get on your case. I know you are busy, but your fans miss you.

Michael R. Farnum

Yes, posts have been a little sparce recently. I did address that a little bit by explaining that my new job had a higher risk when it comes to talking about issues, situations, and most of all things that could be considered vulnerabilities. Risks like the potential to end up breaking rocks (or would that be considered a control instead of a risk, a very, very effective control). I have been trying to do a little better in the past few weeks but it does not seem like to many people have been interested in the directions, and there have been many, that I have taken. One of my major objectives when I started blogging is to never become a slave to security fashion. I feel that there are people out there covering specific topics very well. PDC has pentesting and current and emerging vulnerabilities covered. Martin and Rich have current events wrapped up. Chris and Rich have deep, stimulating, and sometimes dry…err, I mean deep….oh damn, I already used that….security product evaluations taken care of. And there are plenty of bloggers who have specific topics that they expertly handle and keep up-to-date. Don’t forget, of course, the host of Security Blogger Soup….Mike. Damn, this is turning into a link party.

I guess my draw back is that I am one of those people who try and take a little something from everything. Breath instead of depth as they say. Or, as I prefer, Jack-Of-All-Trades. This probably goes back to my USMC days when the thought process was, “Be ready for anything at any time.” But for some reason I always feel like I am trying to play catch-up to many of the people I have just listed and a few more industry experts (review the list of SANS instructors for most of them). I came into the computer industry ten years after most of them had already been expert programmers or system/network administrators. So I find myself trying to keep up with fifteen to twenty years of experience on six years of my own (not including college where I started learning what computer components were…..this is a hard drive and you store folders and files on it in the form of Ones and Zeros).

Of course, I will periodically delve into deep discussions with some of these experts. The last time I did that I realized that I am still a little out of my league. Chris definitely showed me the error in my train of though and more importantly, the way that I evaluate and analyze products. In all actuality, however, my ultimate goal of starting a conversation and learning about the topic was achieved, I just feel that I did not represent (214 babe! ….inside joke). Maybe it has made me a little gun shy, but only because I want to be sure I am better prepared next time. I would much rather stick my neck out on such posts and have the learning experience, then continue to merely continuing to provide new analogies on topics that the industry has already broken several sticks on. I had to stop myself committing that sin today, as a matter of fact. But I do not want to embarrass myself in public, because on the Internet my wife cannot do the, *in that woman whisper voice* “Could you excuse us please? He’s had a tough day. Don, what were you thinking? I’ll tell you what….”

So, thank you all for thinking of me. Hopefully you drank more than one beer and shot for me (if not please start now). Thank you Michael for taking the time out to show me some lovin’. It is always appreciated and the beach is still down here in case you and the family were thinking about it. I hope everybody keeps checking the Security Ripcord feed for new content and will periodically point a link or post a comment from time to time as it does help.

Go forth and do good things,

Don C. Weber

Security Ripcord

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