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OK people – third coffee in and I’m so ready to start talking about some of the real-deal experiences I’ve had after decades in the cybersecurity business. I began in 1993 working as a network admin when venicles/vatacom still mostly ran over PSTN lines using multiplexers – those clunky boxes you’ve probably forgotten existed unless you’re a hopeless junkie for old tech the way I am. I still vividly recall thrashing against these systems and thinking, There has to be a better way. I had no idea that a decade later, the Slammer worm would smash into us like a freight train, and everything changed.
The 2003 Slammer worm was my first experience witnessing a fast-moving cyber threat that crippled networks around the world, including ours. I saw packets come flooding into our systems, I saw connections slam shut, I saw a complete operation freeze. The episode illustrated the significance of preparedness, and the fragility of existing traditional models when it comes to network security.
Fast-forwad to today, I own a cybersecurity business that specializes in Managed NOC’s firewalls, servers, and routers and securing organizations more than just stuff on the switches level. Recently, I worked with three large banks to transform their zero-trust architecture—a term that I think is a bit hypey (I mean, remember, I’m super skeptical of anything that has the prefix AI-powered—but we can trust zero? That’s different). Here’s what that experience taught me about 10 years after treatment.
Here’s the thing—traditional perimeter defenses? They are like locking your front door and leaving the back window wide open. In an era of cloud services, remote work and increasingly sophisticated threats, perimeter security is simply not enough. And banks, which sit atop so much sensitive information, can’t even allow for the tiniest crack.
Zero-trust is never trust anything, not even the inside by default. Every request, every connection is validated, authenticated, and authorized. But it’s not just flip-a-switch, there’s a lot of legacy gear, integration headaches, and sometimes users who don’t want to jump through extra hoops.
But there’s here’s a little morsel that doesn’t always get as much attention: zero-trust is something you have to keep checking over and over. The threat environment changes and so should your defenses.
I returned from DefCon recently— the hardware hacking village especially, had me stoked. Hardware flaws are often missed, but can deal devastating blows. Watching people pull apart drones, printers, even cars (yes, cars — see those analogies again) reminded me that security couldn’t be just about software.
That is one of my pet-peeves with a lot of the cybersecurity solutions these days: You are also promised an AI-powered magic, but they don’t give a damn about the raw, basic vulnerabilities in hardware. And hardware? It’s the root of trust. If the hardware is compromised, the best firewall in the world isn’t going to help.
Quick sidebar—password policies. I remember when the pendulum went from reset your password every 30 days to just use a passphrase. Fact: Making a complex password change every thirty days IS an invitation for users to write their passwords down. It would be like making motor-vehicle drivers switch the type of tire they use every week. Ridiculous.
Better to invest in multi-factor authentication and educating users than to torture them with absurd complexity and unnecessary churn.
Tools alone won’t help. It’s about humans, processes and technology coming together. That can mean returning to more antiquated ways — remember when sitting near the server room was a part of the job? — and sometimes adopting new paradigms like zero-trust or hardware security.
And one more thing — no getting too comfortable. The cyber landscape morphs constantly. What worked for PSTN mux networks or for Slammer worm mitigation isn’t going to fly today. Adaptability is your friend.
And now to anyone responsible for running networks today — from those overseeing bank infrastructure to those managing a small business — manage your security as you would your classic car. You don’t send in it to the carwash and hope it wins a race. You need the right parts, regular tune-ups and a driver who’s alert and well-trained.
At P J Networks Pvt Ltd, we use those experiences and couple them with new ones to help companies secure their networks — and let me tell you something: experience mixed with ongoing learning is unbeatable.
So the next time you hear zero-trust or AI-powered security, think to yourself—but how well does that really fit in my network? And, more importantly — what’s under the hood?
Keep your coffee strong, your firewalls stronger and your teams sharper.
