When Can I Stop? - 8

"Traffic was really bad today." No, really - awful. But you probably don't know it.

You put your business website out today (so proud, right?), and if you were watching your logs, you'd see all sorts of traffic.

Not analytics, traffic.

Some of that traffic was likely malicious. Probing.

I remember opening sFTP on a site years ago and watching the traffic to us until we locked down to known IPs of who could access sFTP, which enables secure file transfer. "Opening" it means making a port on the server accessible for the specific purpose of sFTP.

People can find that open port and work to exploit it. Independent of visiting your website.

As a matter of fact, every open port is a risk, just like every window, door, and skylight is to your house. Ingress and egress.

If you know that, you're taking precautions, right? Someone's making sure the doors and windows lock properly and monitoring them for intrusion.

The website in this example is a simple illustration. Imagine as you grow your business what you (and the people you do business with) might have only. Email. Data storage. Have to secure that.

There's an illusion I'll allude to - the one where you're "done." Changing technology and exploits of it equate to NEVER DONE with securing your information. There are companies dedicated to mobile device security, specializing in that. Software application developers are doubling down on secure code development.

I started in web development when securing your website was ensuring people logged in well (username, password, process) and also that no one was feeding bad data in via the URL querystring or data input boxes on a web page. That was it, and it was sufficient. Inspect what you expect; stop the nonsense.

A gazillion years ago I wrote authentication (login) for my sites. Now whole companies offer authentication solutions, and almost no one writes their own.

So here's the issue I want to ensure you understand: as a user of the Internet, nothing looks much different. 15 years ago it was 2009. The biggest change from 2009 to now for most of us in how we use the Internet is that we use it MORE.

Smartphones. Streaming things. Internet's more places. And, oh, AI!

Aside but relevant: some AI 2024 predictions below - written in English.

https://thenextweb.com/news/mikko-hypponen-5-biggest-ai-cybersecurity-threats-2024 (Hat tip to Bob Carver for posting this today).

But behind the scenes, everything's changed. And will continue to change.

2024 needs to be your year for regular security monitoring and growth in your human security defense practices.

Training. Conversations.

Evaluation. Vigilance.

Review. Iteration.

For companies of all sizes. Non-profits. Even solopreneurs.

I'm here to help assess and train your staff and connect you with practitioners to handle the really geeky stuff.

So new year, better security.

(Shut the windows; it's January)

Also, you're never done. But you can be more secure.

Let's talk: https://calendly.com/hnoggle/15min

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I Was Told There Would Be Semicolons

And thus, it shall be so.

When we write formally, semicolons add spice and variety. Proper use all begins with understanding 4 things. So, let's go there.

• 1?? Sentence fragment (often called a dependent clause, depending on usage). A sentence fragment lacks either a subject or a verb. It's just a phrase. Some examples:?A white Christmas?The long, boring book?Just a phrase?And will continue to changeThis is sometimes called - in terms of sentence structure - 2?? a dependent clause.
• An 3?? independent clause can stand alone as a sentence; it has both a subject and a verb. (See what I did there).
• 4?? Comma splice - hold on for a definition a bit later.

There's the background. Now, here are the typical usage scenarios for semicolons. The first two are the most common and relevant for business writing.

?Scenario 1: Use a semicolon to separate two closely related independent clauses (or sentences).

Go back to that "see what I did there" just above. Deconstructing with a series of facts:

??Clause 1: "An 3?? independent clause can stand alone as a sentence"

Gramatically.

??Clause 2: "It has both a subject and a verb."

Each of these - clause 1 and clause 2 - is a sentence. These sentences are closely related, so you can slap a semicolon between them, lowercase the "i" on it, and shout huzzah!

Now is the time...to talk comma splices. These occur when a write should have take the text above and either semicolonized it or made it into two sentences - because it is two sentences.

You'll often see writing where those two sentences are connected with a comma, and that's a comma splice. That'd earn you a red strike in English class.

Last point - one other way to avoid a comma splice. (This is a sentence fragment, by the way - which is fine in informal writing such as this - often used for emphasis).

Wrapping up this example: the correct and 1 wrong way to punctuate these words.

??Semicolon: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence; it has both a subject and a verb.

??Two sentences: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It has both a subject and a verb.

??Connected: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence because it has both a subject and a verb.

(Because is the connecting word here)

One other point here:

Remember Conjunction Junction? Here, for the young: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjdCFat9rjI

The conjunction! And, but, or.

?I want to visit the store, and I want to return home for dinner.

?I want to visit the store, I want to return home for dinner. (Comma splice)

?Scenario 2: Use a semicolon when you're connecting two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb.

What. On. Earth. Is. That.

There's a whole list of them, but, most commonly, you'll see:

?However

?Therefore

?Nevertheless

?Ergo (my favorite but not as common)

How do you use 'em?

?"I know you want to visit your girlfriend; however, your room must be clean before you leave."

The structure:

• Sentence/independent clause 1
• ; [conjunctive adverb] ,
• Sentence/independent clause 2.

?"I know you want to visit your girlfriend, however, your room must be clean before you leave."

Have to use that semicolon with a however or make the However a start of a second sentence.

?"I know you want to visit your girlfriend. However, your room must be clean before you leave."

?Scenario 3: Use a semicolon for comma clarity.

Not used as often.

?I want to visit Akron, Ohio; New York City, New York; and Providence, Rhode Island.

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Happenings

Springfield Business Journal Article - the most recent: https://sbj.net/stories/opinion-decoding-the-trending-qr-scams,93276 ?

I'm talking with The 417 Breakfast Club about cybersecurity on Wednesday morning the 10th

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3 Cybersecurity for People newsletters this January due to how the days fall.

Small businesses - amp up 2024's cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity practitioners - stay strong, and write well.

Everyone else - glad you're here, too.

Please DM what you'd like to see me write about. I'm already planning the next two.