What do COVID-19 and cybersecurity have in common?
Good morning folks!
We wake up this morning and find ourselves in the midst of a pretty precarious situation. Globally, COVID-19 cases have exceeded 134,000 with 5,000 people dead.
But why is one of the co-founders of an online security company writing to you about a global pandemic this morning? He is not an epidemiologist, nor does he play one on TV.
I'm writing to you because my wife asked me an interesting question last night.
With anxiety levels so high about the coronavirus, it seems every website and news source is coming out with a list of recommendations on how to avoid infection. And topping the list almost every time is wash your hands regularly. I'm confused. Have people not been washing their hands this whole time?
Ok, my wife has OCD and washes her hands 10x as much as the average person, but I thought she asked a great question. Why does it require a global pandemic for most people to regularly wash their hands? A while back, I wrote on my personal blog (here) about how I regularly see men fail to wash their hands when leaving the bathroom. I don't understand; not even a quick rinse!
Stepping away from hand washing and the coronavirus, this is incredibly emblematic of what it means to be human.
When I was in high school, I went to a party at a friend's house. Everyone was drinking and having a great time. At some point, a few friends decided to go on a joy ride. A few hours passed and they had yet to return. We were worried so we gave them a call. No answer. We waited for 5 hours until we got a call from the hospital. There had been a serious accident. That was the night that one of our friends lost their life.
Before that night I was cavalier about seatbelts. Since, I wear them every time.
Everyone buys a home security system after a burglary. We all rush to get flood insurance after the hurricane.
It's so human to wait until something bad happens to take precautions.
Often times, we still fail to act. In the world of cybersecurity, there's no shortage of crazy things that have happened (Crypto AG, Stuxnet, Equifax).
Yet, let me ask you a question. What steps do you take to protect yourself online? How much do you spend every year on digital security-related products and services? I imagine the answer for the vast majority of you is $0.
Don't wait for the digital equivalent of COVID-19 before you take this seriously.
Wash your hands. Wear your seatbelt. Get insurance. And protect yourself while you browse the internet.
If Idenati can play a small part in helping you do so, then we are on the right path to achieving our mission as a company.
Stay healthy and safe everyone!
-Jeremy