Consulting, Publishing, Engineering

Category Archives: Security

Odd coincidence? Or is there something we should know?

I’ve been preaching emergency preparedness for a while now, and have even published a number of papers on things like writing contingency plans and business continuity. I’ve given talks on the importance of readiness at professional conferences and for the local Red Cross. For some reason, though, the topic suddenly seems to be EVERYWHERE!

My friend and co-author John Hedtke has a new book out called “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Disaster Preparedness” (co-authored with Maurice Ramirez).

And just this week, I got TWO magazines that have survival as the theme for the October issue! The entire October issue of Popular Mechanics is devoted to “Beyond Survival: How to Live Through Any Disaster”. You can read part of it online, especially the article “Ready for Anything” by Glenn Reynolds. And yeah, that’s the same title I used for the talk on business continuity that I gave at the Montreal IEEE/PCS conference.

Then just yesterday I got the October issue of Reader’s Digest, again devoted to the overall theme of “How to Survive Anything!” It looks like they won’t be updating their website with October content until October, so you’ll have to take my word for it for now (or check it out at your local magazine store).

So while I’m delighted to see more people talking about preparedness, I have to wonder at the timing of it all. And yeah, I’ll be backing up my hard drives this afternoon, and stocking up on staples like bottled water and Famous Amos cookies.

Password panic? Not necessary

While I completely agree that there is a lot of information that simply does not belong online, I’ve also seen a bit of overreaction lately against posting ANYTHING in the least bit personal. Tiffany Monhollan wrote a nice article over at Brazen Careerist recently, and while I agree that people need to be very careful… Continue Reading

Other blogs I follow, 2008 edition

I read a lot of other blogs, and usually find that my colleagues create timely, informative posts in many ways better than I could possibly write. It’s a great way of keeping up with news in the industry and in areas that maybe aren’t specifically related to technical communications but that I really enjoy. Back… Continue Reading

Professional Communication Society conference registration open

I’m happy to report that I’ll be giving a presentation at the IEEE PCS International Professional Communication Conference in October in Saratoga Springs, NY. My topic is “Digital Risk Management: Protecting Your Privacy, Improving Security, and Preparing for Emergencies” . I know, it’s a mouthful, but there’s a lot to say on the topic! And… Continue Reading

Security, privacy, and risk management

I’m just about finished with my second reading of Kevin Mitnick’s The Art of Deception. Mitnick is most famous for being a hacker, cyber thief, and for a while, “America’s Most Wanted Computer Outlaw.” The basic premise is that you can put all the electronic safeguards in place that you want (firewalls and encryption and… Continue Reading