Education and learning

IT Cross-Training For Better Cybersecurity

Submitted by lishevita on Wed, 06/12/2013 - 15:38

There aren't enough people trained in cybersecurity to fill all of the positions for those jobs. This is a problem worldwide. It's a problem that shouldn't be as hard to fix as it has been. The fact of the matter is, there are lots of people with most of the skills necessary but who either haven't considered cybersecurity as an option, or haven't been shown the path to move from their current work to this new area. The tools to solve this situation are in the hands of the companies that already hire programmers and IT professionals in other areas, but few people or organizations have thought to tap the resources already in their offices. What we need is a strategy of cross-training to find and support the talent latent in the wider industry and quickly build the cybersecurity teams we need.

The Real Problem of Cyber Security at Scottish Universities

Submitted by lishevita on Fri, 05/17/2013 - 03:54

My friend Paul Mason sent me an article in late April about how cyber attacks are putting student data at risk. I read the article with interest, but couldn't help rolling my eyes throughout, as I know that what was reported in this article is only a tiny hint at the real problems in cyber security for universities. This isn't just a problem in Scotland. It's a problem for most -- for all I know, maybe all -- universities.

Let me start off by saying that leading the article with the huge volume of spam email and the potential malware in that email was a complete non-story. Your personal email has more spam than real mail. If you have decent spam filters, you are saved from most of that. If not, gods help you. I wouldn't want to see the Inbox of an unfiltered account.

The Other Dr. Feynman

Submitted by lishevita on Wed, 05/15/2013 - 18:41

Last night I watched the second half of a documentary about Richard Feynman on TV. It was great. He was such a character as well as a brilliant man. He's become a icon for science geeks of all stripes. Obviously, I loved the show.

Today, I decided to close down some open tabs in my browser, deciding what to read now, what to send to Pocket, and what to just close because I'd never get around to it anyway. The last tab left to be closed had the title, My Mother, The Scientist. Of course, I had to read that one.

Imagine my surprise when I realized that it was a post about Joan Feynman, Richard's little sister. Did you know that Richard Feynman's little sister is an astrophysicist? I didn't. Why didn't I know that?

Cybersecurity for Everyone

Submitted by lishevita on Thu, 03/07/2013 - 09:00

This past weekend I taught a workshop at Workshop Weekend on basic cybersecurity. I covered things like social media privacy settings, why you should use https for all your web-based email, banking, and other important communication and how to use encryption with your IM chats. I showed people why it's so important to change the default passwords on home internet routers. There was also a demonstration of what your traffic looks like when someone snags it out of the air with a tool like Wireshark.

The class was hugely popular, so I'm giving it again!

Next Thursday, April 14, 2013 (that's PI DAY!!!) from 10 - 11:30 AM at Tech Liminal.

The Eventbrite calls the class Web Security for All, but think of it is general security for your identity, your data and your devices. It's a bargain at $30!

Sign up here

CSS3 Class at Tech Liminal today!

Submitted by lishevita on Sat, 03/02/2013 - 00:35

If you are taking my CSS3 class today, you will want to download the starter html page from http://www.alwayssababa.com/css3-class/class.html. We'll be using that page the way we did last week for experimenting with different pieces of code.

The whole presentation is available at http://www.alwayssababa.com/css3-class/

I recommend that you go back to this page after class to explore the linked pages and practice your new skills.

Thanks for joining me!

Pages

Subscribe to Education and learning