Lambos for Everyone !

Picture this - you and your partner live in a cozy townhouse in a working-class neighborhood of Ghent. Together, you have two children and a cat. Or not. Every morning, you stroll to the warm bakery just 50 meters from your door. You chat with your neighbor about the weather and cheerfully wave to the local pharmacist opening up for the day. Life is harmonious and predictable. Smooth sailing all the way.

But one day, you decide to buy a Euromillions lottery ticket at the bookstore - after all, there's a 300 million euro jackpot up for grabs. You never know. You feel a bit guilty because whenever someone in your circle of friends mentions playing the lottery, you don't hesitate to crack your usual joke about how it's an "extra tax on people who are bad at math."

Fast forward to Friday night - you had completely forgotten about the lottery drawing, and just before bedtime, you quickly check your phone for the winning numbers. You look at the paper - back to your phone - back to the paper and feel a tightening sensation. This can't be true! It must be a joke! But no, there they are - in black and white - the winning numbers. 300 million euros.

You can't sleep that night - you're in shock, but gradually, you come to realize it's true. You look at the ticket a hundred times. It's the middle of the night, and you and your partner are filled with adrenaline and disbelief at the kitchen table.

300 million euros. 300. Million! Euros!

The euphoria is overwhelming, but slowly, the realization sinks in. And it's your partner who grasps it first, looks at you, and says, "We have to move immediately."

By now, you may be wondering why I'm spinning a yarn about the lottery.

Security

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to give a "security awareness" course at one of our clients.

It's enjoyable and sometimes quite challenging. If most executives in 2023 shrug their shoulders at security awareness, that attitude is exponentially present among their employees.

I understand their perspective - there you are, and a prophet of doom appears before you, pointing out a slew of dangers. Usually, dangers you haven't even considered. Most of those hazards seem to affect the company itself primarily, creating a certain distance from the problem.

That's why I like to use the lottery example in such a course. Because what are most hackers after? That's right, money! Either directly or through information they can sell for cash.

The day you hit the "big jackpot" the last thing you should do (and ironically, the most popular answer to the question of what people would do if they won the lottery) is to "throw a party for all your friends."

You'll discover that you suddenly have a lot of "friends," and old acquaintances will resurface.

You can't just buy yourself a "Lambo" and park it nonchalantly in the street without expecting trouble. I doubt you'd sleep well.

No - you need protection at that moment. And you must move. You need to live among people even wealthier than you. You must put a fence around your house - and that Lambo? It has to be hidden in a garage, out of sight. That's a requirement for insurance, by the way.

Awareness

We recently had a case where an employee left the company with a copy of an Excel file. The information in that Excel file was valued at 3 million euros during the legal proceedings. That's a whopping 12 Huracans!

And these Lambos were just sitting there on the sidewalk. Doors wide open. And the staff could take them for unlimited spins.

But while we feel this in our bones for material possessions - you can touch a car - we are blind when it comes to information.

If you have crucial information in your company - like carefully built customer lists or specific know-how - you need to build a defense around it. You cannot treat these files the same way you treat the daily menu in the company cafeteria. Yet, we see it happening time and time again.

It's a blind spot - and the competition between companies can be quite fierce. Some firms poach employees from their biggest competitors, hoping (and sometimes even expecting) that they will not only get the person but also the Excel file.

So PLEASE - for the love of god - protect your assets.

Send me an email on [email protected] to find out how we can help you with that