Security Zen – What is the Purpose of this Blog?

From the standpoint of financial and information systems, security is something that is discussed and touted frequently, but what do we need to do to achieve security?  What makes sense for us to feel secure?  And if we do it once are we done?  Not quite, but each step we take will get us closer to the goal.

We care about security because feeling secure helps us sleep well at night.  The bank has our money, and the doors are locked.  Our company is paying our health insurance premiums, so our kids can visit the doctor.  Security is about peace of mind, and there are oh-so many things to worry about, whether the risks be obvious (viruses, hackers, thieves) or less obvious (inadequate planning or preparation).

So the security part is obvious: we’ll talk about being more secure with our technology, our information, and our money (by managing fraud risks).  The Zen aspect is meant to add something interesting.  Instead of straight-shooting you on technical considerations, I am going weave it into the Zen philosophy.  Yes, Zen.

 Zen has four (4) noble truths that apply to the human condition, which I will be bending to my will.   The first three, summarized, are this:

“Life is suffering”

Sound familiar?  If you look around you will see lots of suffering, and sometimes you don’t have to look past your e-mail Inbox to find loads of it.  Stub your toe, get cutoff in traffic, run out of ketchup with your fries, you get the idea.  This is a reality in life, and since work is part of life, we usually have some suffering there, as well.

However, this realization is not intended to bring you down.  Rather, it leads to the fourth and last noble truth that we want to focus on:

“Happiness in life”

Zen speaks to happiness, and the message is that happiness is obtainable, but it is a journey.  You don’t obtain happiness once and then you are done… it is an ongoing endeavor.  Security is the same: it is a journey with many steps, a path to security (happiness), the way to peace of mind.  It is Security Zen.

If you are reading this, it is because you are either interested in learning more about being secure, or you mistyped something in Google.  If it is the former, welcome!  I think you will find some help in these ramblings to assist you in your security journey.

Consider this: What is troubling you from a security perspective?  In five minutes, make a quick list and I will hopefully cover it in the future.  (Especially if you email it to me…)

 Next time, I'll talk about: What does IT do?

  

“Security Zen is about the journey we take to be more secure.”

-          Sam