Does Security Have to be Technical?

I had been a software engineer for at least 3 years specializing in digital security. A month ago, I attended a small workshop which talked about IT Security for corporate and the speaker said this somewhere in the middle of the workshop:

“Security is a process. It does not have to be really technical and the most important part is the process.”

I stunned for a while and suddenly my mind wondered away from the workshop deeply thinking, what is the speaker trying to deliver? I started this serious thinking simply because it is not said by some non-technical or sales person. Instead, the person speaking in front of me is a Certified Ethical Hacker.

A padlock key on a keyboardAt the end of the workshop, I begin to understand what he is trying to deliver. After 3 years of writing programs for the benefit of security, I turned out saying that security is a process. Why would I say that? Look around us. All the tech that you need to protect yourself from cyber crime is there. Anti-virus, firewall, anti keylogger, parental control, password manager and many more are all available in the software market. There is no reason for us to say in terms of technology, we are not good enough in security.

What makes so many of us a victim of computer or internet threat is the lack of proper process in computer and internet security. Security is not a short process where you only apply if you need it. For instance, you don’t only apply security when you had just downloaded a file from an unknown site which required a security scan.

Security is an end to end process. This means that the moment your computer boots up, security should be applied until the time your computer shuts down. People usually failed to stay secure simply because they don’t apply security from the very start. Agree?

So what’s your view? Do you still think that security has to be something technical?

14 thoughts on “Does Security Have to be Technical?

  1. I agree with you and I want to admit that people don’t care for the security at all and they remember it as soon as they have any problems. As soon as you have bought a Pc or a laptop you need to think how to protect it.

  2. I definitely agree with you Alan, most people fail to stay secure because they don’t apply the right security from the start. My PC recently fell victim to a number of different viruses and I know it’s because I didn’t give the security for my computer any attention until it was too late. If you focus on your security from the start you can prevent computer or internet threats from even taking place.

    • Christopher (admin team)

      Wise advice John, make sure your PC’s security is ‘water tight’ from the start.

      Thanks for the comment, welcome to the blog 🙂
      Christopher – Admin Team

  3. Most people have no idea how to secure their computer, unless they have a decent technical understanding. It’s amazing really, how frequently people’s PC’s get bogged down and are eventually rendered useless.

    Using a sandboxed web browser like Sandboxie is good idea, or beefing up on spyware/antivirus software and remembering to update it.

  4. Many people treat security just like they treat backups. It only seems important once things go wrong, as soon as you delete those files you want and you can’t recover them, they’ll do backups.
    It’s not unlike house security, a friend of mine is a Police Officer, he says a surprising amount of people buy house alarms after they are burgled. Why not just get one before and prevent it. Prevention is better than cure.
    Happy 2012…
    Graham

  5. Hi Alan,

    Very interesting topic as we thought we knew about it all, however, there are things that caught my attention lately.

    There are people who “don’t care” and there are people who “don’t know” about security on their systems.

    For example, my mother in law got a new computer lately, and she told us, the young people who are familiar with internet and computer, that there was scary little “man” on the bottom right of her screen pops up when she opened her email.

    We at first laughed at it, but then we realized that she doesn’t know about “software guide” at all, and when we checked her computer, we noticed that she doesn’t even have an antivirus or firewall on while internet is always on..

    I believe there are many “older” people out there who really don’t know how to secure their systems at all.

    Happy 2012

    Kimi

    • Christopher (admin team)

      There are a worrying number of people who don’t fully understand computers and the internet, and yet have access.

      My question to you Kimi, could you be a net champion?

      Thanks for the comment, welcome to the community!
      Christopher – Admin Team

        • Christopher (admin team)

          Why don’t you fancy your hand at helping a family member get online?
          I am not saying you have to, just asking.

          • Hi Christopher,

            Oh, I guess I did misunderstand “net champion” meaning LOL, excuse my English limitation.

            Of Course I love to help my mom in law whenever she needs me! I help the best I can 🙂

            Kind regards

            Kimi

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