John Krasinski (he played
"Jim" on The Office) has a new YouTube channel called "Some Good
News" Please subscribe, it's so awesome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5pgG1M_h_U.
I smile for the entire 15 or so minutes as he's talking about
some of the good things going on in the world...especially as we face this
pandemic and all the changes that are happening along with it. In a world where
our attention is steadily fixed on real, but "bad" news--the good news is
a refreshing and just as real way to help us develop a more balanced
perspective of reality. Can we be more balanced in cybersecurity?
Compared to others I've been in
contact with, I'm fairly new to the cybersecurity profession. My introduction
to cyber was through the mandatory IT security training in my organization
where we were warned of all the bad things that can happen to us on the
internet, all the things we cannot do and all the ways to avoid being hacked. My introduction to cyber as a career was infused by just as many warnings. My learning was centered around hacking and protecting myself and my information assets. I've come to realize
that this view is very unbalanced. We don't really talk about cybersecurity as
much as we talk about cyber-insecurity. Yes, they go together just as life and
death go together but, as we all know, being hyper-focused on death (something
that is inevitable) only diminishes the quality of your life. Being hyper-focused on security and insecurity causes us to miss out on our cyber freedom.
There is a lot we can do to protect
and control our own physical, emotional, psychological, financial, familial and
mental health but much is out of our hands. The same is true for cyber. We all
have a role in protecting and controlling our cyber health and security but much
of it is out of our hands. Giving attention and working together with external
decision-makers and other collaborators can help us to be more cyber-free.
Hearing and sharing the good news about cyber will also help us to be more
cyber-free because we can see a bigger, more holistic picture of what's really
going on in the cyberworld that we occupy.
So what's some good cyber news and
where do I find it? Everywhere.
Two of the main reasons we are in a
cyber world are for connection and convenience. The internet has made the world much smaller and
connections much more efficient and meaningful. Where are meaningful cyber
connections happening that produce meaningful physical and emotional impacts?
Information,
knowledge, and learning
The cyber-world contains an endless supply of knowledge and information that allows
us to learn about almost any topic or question you may have. It also allows us to share our expertise and learning with others. I intend to create a few courses very soon and share them on Udemy and other sites.
As much as I love writing and receiving hand-written letters, it takes days and sometimes even months to receive a letter from someone else. Today, through cyberspace, you can send an email to anyone in the world and often have it delivered in less than a minute. There’s also chatting, social media sites and countless applications that allow us to keep in touch quickly and in real-time.
Mapping
I barely go anywhere without my GPS. I was never good at reading maps so Google Maps is my best friend when I'm going someplace that I've never been to before. Also, apps that track our location makes it easier for us to find stores and other businesses in our area.
Banking, bills, and shopping
Online banking and shopping are no-brainers. Taking care of my banking from home makes life so much easier. I have also ordered groceries online via Instacart when I wasn’t able to get there physically.
Making money
There are countless ways we can make money online by selling tangible products on Amazon, eBay, Facebook, etc. or becoming content creators on YouTube, as a blogger or author. I have 3 YouTube channels and 2 blogs that I could potentially become money makers for me.
Collaboration, remote work, and access to a global workforce
Giving the current COVID-19 pandemic, working from home and collaborating via video and web conferencing like Zoom is essential to keeping the world of work…working. Hiring is also an area that the cyber world has made more effective and efficient. I've had a few virtual interviews since I left my job in October 2019.
Donations and funding
With access to a much wider audience, anyone with an Internet connection can quickly donate to their favorite charity or help fund projects and ideas that interest them. I started a project on Kickstarter for my book "The Last Evaluation" (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/165631498/the-last-evaluation/description). Also, those looking for charity or monetary assistance can find many online services that help make it easier to support their causes.
Entertainment
The Internet gives everyone access to an endless supply of entertainment, with access to watch videos, watch movies, listen to music, and even play games online.
Internet of Things
The Internet helps make devices in your home connected and smarter by giving them access to the Internet. By connecting IoT (Internet of Things) devices to your home, it can become smarter and more efficient and help save energy, money, and time. I only have a Smart TV and a smart scale which is useful as I'm intermittent fasting and keeping track of my progress.
Cloud computing and cloud storage
I tell everyone that will listen, that if my Trello board goes down, I’m going down with it. I have a lot of my information stored in the cloud…Trello, dropbox and my google drive. Cloud storage synchronizes data across any of your Internet-connected devices, so you have access to your files from anywhere. This is so convenient!!
All of these areas require security but they also do much to expand and help us exercise out freedom to contribute, impact and change on a more global scale. Let's begin to share some cyber good news with each other more consistently and more often. The bad stuff isn't going anywhere so the least we can do is make the quality of our cyber-freedom better.
For more Cybersecurity stories, information, and fun conversation, Subscribe to my YouTube channel Person-Centered Cyber.
It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not. I talk more about who we really are, and why knowing this matters on my Life Without a Witness YouTube Channel
Also, if you create cybersecurity training, want better business outcomes, and better performance at work, come see me on my Everyone Deserves an Ypifany (pronounced "epiphany") Youtube Channel
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