My son Scott turns 23 today. As I watch him making his way into the world I am endlessly proud of the truly kind, generous, and scary-smart Man that he has become.
As I sat thinking about his birthday, I realized that my son represents the first generation raised not only with extensive access to technology but also with repeated exposure to the potential dangers and pitfalls of technology. In that light, I asked Scott to comment on his views on security and the view of his generation. Here are his responses:
Hyper Awareness. “Being raised in a ‘security family’ made me a heluvalot more conscious of the things I was sharing and who might be able to see them. It definitely made me more cautious about day to day internet sharing, and led me to doing odd things such as checking and app’s privacy settings two or three times to make sure they’re to my liking, or reading the terms of use more carefully and thoroughly than most folks. I’m aware of who can see what I post, and keep that in mind when I’m posting.”
Convenience Still Rules the Day. “I think my peers are very willing to everything online and put every little detail about their lives online without much concern for who can see it. Remember, I wrote my undergraduate thesis on the attitudes of my peers regarding security. Most of my peers are wholly focused on convenience. They don’t understand the dangers and don’t necessarily want to take the time to learn. If it makes their lives easier, then that’s enough for them.”
The Career Path is Still Undefined. “Your peers, Dad, don’t really do a good job of explaining what it means to work in security. The friends I know who are interested in security seem more focused on how much they can make right out of college. It’s not necessarily that they like it or don’t like it, but it pays well. Most know nothing about the profession or the different jobs involved and assume that it means they can hack for a living."
Clearly we Warriors of the Light still have much to do. While I suspect convenience will always trump security, the more we can educate folks on security and inspire the next generation towards security careers the better (and safer) our lives will be. My two cents…and Happy Birthday, #1 Son :o)