Dear Santa:
Yes, it's me again. I know, I know...it's been many years since I've written to you, and I'm probably older than the typical demographic you're used to hearing from. Still, I felt it was past time that I reached out to you again. As a security professional my job requires a goodly amount of optimism as positivity -- these are essentials when you stand in the gap and fend off the bad nasties in the world -- so I remain hopeful that you might see fit to grant me a Christmas wish or two.
My list and short, and I know you're busy...so here goes:
- For the team of consummate security professionals that I work with now and have worked with over the years, I wish for them at least one week's worth of uninterrupted sleep. These are some of the finest sheepdogs (a la the Dave Grossman definition) that I've had the privilege of serving with; they deserve some worry-free rest from the fight, if only for a moment.
- For the spouses of every security professional that I know (including mine), I wish for them a refilling/replenishing of that seemingly endless font of patience and understanding that they continuously display. It is said that the wives of Spartans are the secret pillars which hold up the world; the significant others of security professionals prove this day-in and day-out as meals are interrupted, special dates are missed, and date nights are cancelled in our quest to keep the dragons at bay in the organizations that we are charged with protecting. May they never lose their love of -- or patience with -- us as we continue to stand in the gap.
- For my son and those of his generation, I wish for a vigorous, pointed, and decidedly uncomfortable discussion on the true concept and meaning of privacy in 2016. While accepting that the definition (and expectation) of that term is evolving, the impacts of big data, data analytics, and the internet of things on the "Minority Report Generation" are only beginning to be felt and understood. If nothing else, I believe an acceleration and increase in the discourse is long overdue.
I think that's it, Santa. If you could fi-
...wait, what's that? What about ME? Oh, sorry about that. Truth is, though, I don't have a special wish I'd ask for you to fulfill for me. Other than the same thing I wish for every single day...
..."just enough strength to stand in the gap tomorrow."
Blessing to all this holiday season. Namaste...
