How do you build community when in-person events are transformed into virtual or hybrid events? How do you generate camaraderie among employees when so many of us are still working from home? How do you stay current about cybersecurity when so many conferences have moved online?
One thing we know for sure: the pandemic has changed how and where we work. The move to remote or hybrid work forces has transformed how we think about an “office.” Some of those changes are positive. Remote work has given companies a wider field of potential employees, because they are not restricted to a physical location. According to a recent article in The Boston Globe, major companies like the insurance giant Sun Life have dropped the idea of “headquarters,” eliminating perceived hierarchy among office locations.
What do these changes mean in the broader picture for the cyber community? First, these developments impact hiring and retention of key employees. Now employers will have to think long and hard about “mandating” that all workers be at the office, at all times. No longer are software-first employees physically chained to a space. Especially in cyber – which already has an acute shortage of workers – this opens both opportunities and perils for employees and employers as they navigate the new and treacherous shoals of work-life balance and opportunity. Without a central shared office, employees must find new ways of staying up-to-date with their company and their industry. How do you train and retrain in this new environment?
At the recent Black Hat and DEFCON conferences, in-person audiences were down, with many attendees participating virtually. In-person attendance at Black Hat was expected to be about one-fourth of a typical year, and DEFCON, was anticipating about one-third to one-fourth of its normal in-person attendance too. Though attending virtually has its advantages – people can participate from around the world, you can hear speakers that would normally have extremely long lines – those in attendance lamented missing making personal connections at these conferences, which have been among the most prominent in the cybersecurity community for more than a decade. People are losing out on a lot of the relationship-building that would normally happen at a conference.
So the question is, with the pandemic dragging on and with summer drawing to a close, how can you build community and relationships and stay up to date on cybersecurity developments? If we are not going to be together in person, we need to find ways to stay in touch with our peers, involve ourselves in industry debates and mandates, and remain current to protect our livelihoods and our companies.
To help with these efforts, we’ve put together some suggested reads – articles, books, and blogs – that will help you stay current and well-rounded and informed in the cyber community and related areas that might just interest you enough to take a closer look. You’ll note that some of these resources are not directly relatable to cyber security. For example, stories about Eternal Change for No Energy demonstrate how everyone, including people in the cyber industry, needs to think “outside the box” sometimes. Please note: Many of these links are free, but for a few (like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal), you may encounter a paywall; others like Bloomberg and The Washington Post will let you in for a short stretch.
Enjoy!
“The Cybersecurity 202: The year’s biggest cybersecurity conferences are back, but limited,” The Washington Post: The Black Hat and DEFCON conferences, which are typically crowded and bustling summer highlights for the cybersecurity community, are far more muted this year.
“Bionic arms and blue-eyed bots: How Russia aims to nurture a tech hub in its Far East,” The Washington Post: To see Russia’s ambitions for its own version of Silicon Valley, head about 5,600 miles east of Moscow, snake through Vladivostok’s hills and then cross a bridge from the mainland to Russky Island.
“The Cybersecurity 202: CISA’s new director brought a unique style to Black Hat,” The Washington Post: The government’s new cybersecurity quarterback made a strong appeal at the Black Hat conference for industry cyber pros to partner with government to counter hacking threats.
“Eternal Change for No Energy: A Time Crystal Finally Made Real,” Quanta Magazine: Like a perpetual motion machine, a time crystal forever cycles between states without consuming energy. Physicists claim to have built this new phase of matter inside a quantum computer.
“Phantom Warships Are Courting Chaos in Conflict Zones,” Wired: The latest weapons in the global information war are fake vessels behaving badly.
“The Full Story of the Stunning RSA Hack Can Finally Be Told,” Wired: In 2011, Chinese spies stole the crown jewels of cybersecurity—stripping protections from firms and government agencies worldwide. Here’s how it happened.
“Code Wars,” Bloomberg: The escalating battle against hackers.
“Cyber Deal Shows Consumer-Corporate Divide,” Bloomberg: Norton and Avast were early pioneers in security, but now the threats are bigger and the stakes are higher. A merger may not save them.
“Learning to Live in Steven Weinberg’s Pointless Universe,” Scientific American: The late physicist’s most infamous statement still beguiles scientists and vexes believers.
Cybersecurity: Forbes – Spotlight on Innovation and Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity, CNBC – Spotlight Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity, The New York Times – Business Section, Spotlight Cybersecurity
According to The Wall Street Journal, and these additional links below, some of the best cyber books include:
Countdown to Zero Day, Kim Zetter: Countdown to Zero Day is about Stuxnet and the Launch of the World’s First Digital Weapon which, according to sources, is the virus that the United States and Israel designed to speed up the centrifuges in an Iranian uranium enrichment facility.
Sandworm, Andy Greenberg: A New Era of Cyberwar and the hunt for the Kremlin’s most dangerous hackers.
The Fifth Domain, Richard Clarke and Robert Knake: Defending Our Country, Our Companies and Ourselves in the Age of Cyber Threats.
The Best Cyber Security Books from Five Books Expert Recommendations:
Spam Nation, Brian Krebs: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime―from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door
Worm, Mark Bowden: Worm is about the Conficker worm, which was one of the earlier very, very effective pieces of malware used to build an enormous bot
Dark Territory, Fred Kaplan: The Secret History of Cyber War
11 Recommended Cyber Security Books for 2021 include:
The Art of Invisibility, Kevin Mitnick with Robert Vamosi: The World’s Most Famous Hacker Teaches You How to Be Safe in the Age of Big Brother and Big Data
Cult of the Dead Cow, Joseph Menn: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World
A combination of breaking news and features:
Daniel Miessler
An experienced cybersecurity expert, consultant and writer.
IT Security Guru
IT Security is a daily news digest of breaking news in the IT security industry.
The Hacker News
The Hacker News features the latest cybersecurity news and in-depth coverage of “current and future trends in Infosec and how they are shaping the cyber world.”
Infosecurity Magazine
InfoSecurity Magazine has been delivering cutting-edge cybersecurity content to readers for the past decade, with both a print and online edition.
CSO
CSO provides news, analysis and research on a broad range of security and risk management topics.
Cybernews
Provides cybersecurity-related news, analysis, and opinions by industry insiders.
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