by Dave Moore, CISSP
10/23/2022
I am honored to have been asked to present my Internet-safety class, “Fight the Internet Bad Guys & Win!” to the Oklahoma Bar Association as part of their Continuing Legal Education series October 28, 2022, 10 a.m., at at OBA headquarters in Oklahoma City. Visit ok.webcredenza.com/program?id=85576 for more information.
A wise elder once told me, “Dave, some people will never believe what you teach until they feel the pain,” and they were right. Let’s hope all our Oklahoma attorneys show up and decide to get cyber-smart before they (and their clients) “feel the pain” of an Internet attack. Remembering how Uncle Cleetus didn’t start wearing his seatbelt until after the car wreck tossed him through the windshield, we want our attorneys to use an ounce of prevention before they’re forced to use a pound of cure.
I remember being asked years ago, “Is it safe to be on the Internet?”
I had to think for a minute. I knew the answer, but pondered the best reply. “Great question,” I said. “Consider this: is it safe to drive down Interstate Highway 35?”
With this theme in mind, I began comparing the risks found on the Internet to the risks of driving down Interstate 35 as a teaching tool. The professional term used in the cybersecurity industry in rating someone’s willingness to take risk is their “risk appetite.”
What’s your risk appetite for driving down an interstate highway? There are many potential risks, and adding risk multiplies the opportunity for trouble.
To understand the situation, I first established a “baseline” for I-35 driving: good weather, good visibility, no congestion, sober drivers behaving themselves, which is about as good as it gets on I-35. Then, add more risks.
Driving during rush hour adds risk. Other increased-risk activities include driving when there is road construction, driving at night, driving when there is rain, flooding, snow, when there are beginning drivers (young drivers, those just getting started), and self-taught drivers.
Yes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 38% of drivers on the road today have had absolutely no real drivers training. They are self-taught. Everything they know about driving they either learned from friends, relatives, or what they’ve “learned” from the Internet, TV shows, and movies.
Other I-35 driving risks are intoxicated drivers, and people who have been smoking weed, or doing other drugs. What if multiple risks start happening at the same time? What if it starts raining, then flooding, then snow and ice start to build up? What if there are also beginning drivers, self-taught drivers, as well as drunk and stoned drivers, all at the same time?
The Internet is much the same way. There are risks everywhere you turn. Unfortunately, many people’s response to all risks is the same: “Come on, we’ll be fine. It’s not that big of a deal. You’re making too much out of it. Risks are overrated. What are the odds? I’m free to do what I want. Quit bugging me, I’m trying to drive through this flood!”
Internet risks abound. What if an email offers you half-price prescriptions (rain), pop-ups promise you free, awesome games (flooding), your boss says he’s out of town and needs you need to click a link to pay a company bill (snow and ice), or Russian hotties on vacation in the U.S. want to flirt and maybe meet you later for “fun” (rain, flooding, snow, ice and drunk drivers, all at the same time)? Will you “Click to learn more?”
In conclusion, no, it is not safe to drive down I-35. It is not “safe” to be on the Internet, yet we do both things all the time. As long as we consider the assorted risks involved, and take measures to mitigate those risks, we should be fine.
Dave Moore, CISSP, has been fixing computers in Oklahoma since 1984. Founder of the non-profit Internet Safety Group Ltd, he also teaches Internet safety community training workshops. He can be reached at 405-919-9901 or internetsafetygroup.org