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3PM at my desk with cup number 3, this is when the gears really start spinning. I know some of you may be thinking, who is this Taylor chick and why should I listen to her? Well, let me tell you something….:) I have been around the block a time or two in cybersecurity land (and by the block, I mean since early 2000s if we compare status amongst founders), but my roots run deep; all the way back to 1993 when I was first using voice/data mux over PSTN lines as an network admin at my first job. I recall the agonizing little baby bleed of dial-up and how multi-plexing sounded like it was try to sneekily whisper secrets. Flash forward a little and I was faced with the byte-rush of the Slammer worm; saw for myself how jus one small packet could bring the insulated network world to its knees. Years of those shaky moments taught me the hard truth: security is not a checkbox, it’s a mindset.
I am a security company owner now — P J Networks Pvt Ltd and life…. We go deep into cybersecurity, Managed NOC, firewalls, servers, routers … you name it. We have recently assisted in the redesign of three bank’s zero trust architectures. That experience was like the nightmare of fear, adrenaline and a ton of paperwork.
Haha I literally just returned from DefCon as it wrapped up last night, and hot damn that hardware hacking village has my head spinning still. If you have not joined, then you are missing the wild west in cyber security today.
The truth about some of these experiences and what actually works (as well as myths) in this post.
I started my career before most of you even had Wi-Fi as a dream. Network Admin duties were old-school–we worked on voice and data multiplexing over PSTN. Oh yes, you could make a mess with mux and expecting them to drive on flyover which is not exist.
Why does this matter? That feeling came from those days of learning how important every bit and byte are. No packet left behind…… or you’ll pay for it dearly.
The Slammer worm attacked during the early days of my career managing corporate networks. It was like a digital tsunami- spreading across servers like I’d never seen before. That quickly, that furiously and with an extent of lasting harm. There was no fancy artificial intelligence then — just the necessity to respond in a dirty, hands-on manner.
Confession: I was not perfect. — Full honesty. At the time, it was a hard lesson learned that password polices really are not just buzzwords from IT. Complexity in user credentials has caught me as well. Which was dumb. It means that a compromised password is like leaving your car keys in the ignition with the engine running—asking for problems.
It has been Zero-Trust Architecture (ZTA) all the rage lately. I have helped three banks overhaul their cybersecurity framework to adopt a ZTA approach. What did I find? They need to understand that it is more than just closing everything up and praying for the best.
Zero-trust is about:
The problem, however, is that many organizations see zero trust as a panacea. It isn’t.
As if you were going from a family sedan to a tank, only without knowing how to drive it. But, if you do not know how to drive a tank? You’re still sitting ducks.
Banks we interfaced with had these ancient, Jenga like monolithic systems. A culture shift (which is more than just tech) was required to integrate zero-trust.
Back from DefCon, still way amped up. The hardware hacking village—oh boy. Picture a circus with IoT devices and smart locks for cotton candy, here they rip apart vendors biometric scanners to spot holes that not even the best vendors found.
Why am I excited about this? Because cyber criminals absolutely are.
The rubber hits the road here though, security is no longer a code and firewall thing. It’s physical. It’s embedded chips and firmware. If you believe your router or firewall is secure because it comes with a good brand name, then you are wrong.
A few of the hacks I saw, were equivalent to opening up your car hood to discover a cheese engine plainly — in reality and abstractly.
For the sous-vide-stand-alone robber barons out there, it comes down to this one thing you should takeaway:
Passwords deserve more respect. Real passwords, and not the exact same weak one that all of your users seem to enjoy using.
A password is your car ignition. If your ignition mechanism uses a rusty paper clip, don’t blame the door when someone steals it out of the parking lot. My holy trinity is rotating passwords, multifactor authentication and passphrases.
However, it is all too common the security community over complicates this. Let me rant briefly:
Complex rules that require users to insert special characters willy-nilly? Garbage. They are intended to be written and then… people just write them down.
Instead use passphrases—longer, memorable, and just as secure.
Stop renewing your password every 30 days for crying out loud. Instead, make it long and unique.
Running P J Networks Pvt Ltd allows me to do what I love and an opportunity to cater it into the market which is longing for such assistance. Customized Security products Managed NOC, Next-gen firewalls, Server and router management
What sets us apart?
Security isn’t static. It is like driving a vintage car at 100 mph and then tuning it. One day you are troubleshooting some 90s era routers, the next your in controls mode to prevent zero-day exploits aimed at Kubernetes clusters.
If you only walk away with one point from this— a battle hardened real practitioner — take that; cybersecurity is NOT a sprint, it IS A damn MARATHON.
Be cautious about purchasing any fancy new AI powered tool that offers the moon. It looks better to just find folks who know what they’re doing, practice sound fundamentals and diligence. And keep coffee handy. You’ll need it.
Cheers to protected networks, preserved data, and maintained peace of mind. That was all from my side, Sanjay Seth signing off — P J Networks Pvt Ltd. Till next time.
Sanjay_CoffeeCups – At his desk, whiteboard full of network diagrams and zero-trust schematics
