General Things To Remember (valid beyond info tech as well)

Thing #1: Success is about how you handle interruptions.

Thing #2: Concentrate on what you CAN control, not on what you cannot.

Thing #3: Process is important, but particularly when it gets results.

Thing #4: Always have a backup plan, be it storage, disaster recovery, insurance...

Thing #5: Know a lawyer.

Hurricane Season...

... is almost here. So here's a list:

> Check battery supplies for all devices that need them
> Test flashlights for bad batteries or corroded switches
> Ditches near you need to be cleared for effectiveness
> Pet Sheltering concerns need checking, both outdoor and indoor
> Food and water storage and stock might need to be checked for expirations
> Vehicle fuel and possibly fuel storage topped off
> Spare parts stock for crucial items checked
> Generator maintenance scheduled if applicable
> Roof condition, shutters and windows examined
> Candles and metal platters or other protection while burning looked at
> Hurricane oil lanterns filled (if practical to use)
> Radios, hand crank, solar or battery powered in place
> Medicine and first aid supply, recent - not old - topped off
> Fire extinguishers, hoses, repair tools checked
> Bug repellent obtained and distributed
> Toilet paper, paper towels picked up
> Important Papers such as ID's, insurance info and birth certs protected
> Cash and backup charge cards stored safely
> Rain gear like hats, boots, umbrellas and raincoats ready

Daily Activity Record

I'm told that a number of folk in the IT world are, for various reasons, considering AI tools "The Answer" for any number of problems. Free tools don't have a purchase cost. AI can make the same number of people more effective. Perhaps there are security problems but that's always been the case in every technology - the regulatory, insurance and terms of service situations are not substantially different from even years ago for all that. So we should forge ahead on broad use of AI and not worry too much. We'll realize the gains of lower wage costs now and for the future problems, there may be no way to predict what actions will be needed and so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

That's hardly a perfect plan but it's an arguable default preference. I have to think it's popular and becoming more so. But what if something, heaven forbid, should go wrong? There needs to be an out-of-band events history maintained somewhere.

If the above describes our future (or current) work environments, I have a suggestion that I've seen engineers and police officers use on the job. It's a handwritten work diary or record of daily events. Engineers have, in my experience, used large blank book diaries at their desks to write notes about anything of consequence that's occurred in their areas, with time and date. Police officers use pocket-sized note pads to do the same. These items are not part of the normal work flow. They become evidentiary, though, in case of trouble.

A decision maker above you may not send out emails or otherwise document chancy decisions or plans. The decision maker (or team member of some other nature) may pivot to undocumented orders or strategies. Having offline written records may not help you convince anyone of anything. But normal workflow is often insufficient where automation may cause data loss or overwrites. And there's the common situation of NO automation or audit trail having been functional in the first place.

And this is not just a dodge to prevent AI from snakebiting you. It works as protection from disasters of all sorts, from office politics, from unexpected regulatory changes, from organizational shakeups and so forth. And if it's not stored on the phone but on ordinary paper, it requires no batteries and can possibly survive drops into public toilets.

At SecureWorld...

... there's a good article with a list of suggested strategic moves at the end. Here's the link:

Defending PLC's

And with a new war...

...comes a new category of technical problems we didn't know we had. Except when we DID know.

Lemme see. Allied forces are acting against Iranian assets by monitoring cell communications, as might be expected. For some years Iranian police have been searching for anti-government dissidents by monitoring cell communications as might be expected. And we now hear that in at least some cases Iranian civilians are informing Israel of Basij unit locations VIA CELL PHONE CALLS.

The common denominator uniting all three above situations is the continued existence of the cell phone option IN THE MIDDLE OF A WAR. Has anyone told anyone over there that phones may not be entirely secure? Might there be an advantage in not using insecure systems if the other side is trying to find you??

Consider a new possibility: In the meeting of people in charge of things in Revolutionary Iran a few weeks ago, somebody says "Let's shut off the cellular systems for security". Everybody else concludes that that would be nice, but we just can't do without cell service. Think about it. It's a possibility. It could be that very few people today know how to function without a cell phone.

Certainly the old fogies know that it's only an option in most cases today to use a phone for lots of things. But just today I dealt with a mobile repair service that forced its employee to use a phone to take non-cash, non-check payments over phone apps - either my phone or his app on his device. So not only are we now at a point where people are losing the realization that the internet can be reached on non-phone doohickeys like laptops or desktops, but we're not given (in many cases) a non-phone option for financial transactions.

So a war, a solar flare, or Godzilla or something interferes with cell systems and we have no backup options?

Darn. I wanted to live in interesting times, not annoying ones.

I haven't verified this yet...

... and am afraid to since it's probably true, but a tech business contact of mine says that this was just seen: Artificial Intelligence agents are now hacking web sites in the course of ordinary web information searches.

Right. These programs are just following instructions and trying to automatically get information wherever and however they can. I've often warned customers and all else who will listen that one should be mindful of security issues in technology since it's dangerous in so many ways to, for example, have simple passwords. See, it's not just the big, obvious state actors (Russia, China) that forage for information and access wherever it may be, but probably also India, France, Spain, Morocco, tiny Luxembourg... Not to insult any of our allies (including all of the above), but if it's interesting, then just about everybody's looking.

AND NOW it's not just scripts constructed by the usual suspects that are trying to look at all our stuff. It's AI programs looking for stuff, and getting into places they're not supposed to because of weak passwords and other forms of access.

To repeat myself yet again, "Go to the pub."

PUB = Passwords / Updates / Backups

Change passwords regularly, set password aging to help with that if possible and use passphrases if the system allows.

Update all applications, operating systems, libraries and firmware to the extent practical and allowed by architecture.

Back up all sensitive data and secure access to backup storage sites, storage applications and storage formats. Consider tying access to backup schemes to time/date, to hardware, to geolocation, etc.

For Mentoring

I have a background not only in tech issues but in public speaking (from another industry). If people ask me how to get rid of the fear of being in front of people, here's my topics list for the presentation.


TO ELIMINATE SPEAKING FEAR or STAGE FRIGHT:

1. Have a deep familiarity with the subject
(do you know enough to gripe about it?)

2. Gain a familiarity with your audience
(why should they listen to you?)

3. OPTIONAL: Have acting or performance experience
(failing that, have you lived in a small town or tight neighborhood?)

4. Cultivate a positive self image
(tell the Jackie Gleason "Point the camera at me!" story from "How Sweet It Is" by James Bacon)
(in other words, start with the assumption that you're supposed to be here)

5. Cultivate good health, sleep habits and appearance
(look good and feel good!)

6. Cultivate appropriate clothing, style, social uniform tendencies
(use appearance deliberately!)


--- and remember to summarize at the end for a clearly packaged takeaway.