One Thing To Do Today: Put security into your news rotation

While my career started in web development “back in the day,” I am more into the taking e-waste apart with no intention of putting it back the right way kind of projects these days. But there are many good kind generous people super on top of this topic who want others to know things. That is so important to remember.

• There are people who will have your back if you will let them.
• There are people who want you to be able to have your own.

I’m taking some time to reorganize my bookmarks and my twitter feed to make sure I check what those people have to say regularly. With a new folder for everyday of the week, and a time scheduled to check them, InfoSec goes into Tuesday.  Why Tuesday? Because Tuesday.

There are many many links that could go into that folder. Here are 50, 50+, 21, etc. but let’s start with 6 that are going in mine.

• ArsTechnica – Technology general news site that doesn’t suck. Probably already in your list.  Not exclusively security focused. It is actually a daily check for me, but just in case I’ve slipped.
• Krebs of Security – Likely if you’ve heard of any security sites before, this is the probably the one you’ve heard of.
• Schneier on Security – Another leading voice. There is a community thread on Fridays.
• Dark Reading – Recent post reminding folks about social engineering. Locking down hardware isn’t the only thing.
• Threat Post -The Kaspersky Lab Security News Service – Kaspersky Lab, based in Moscow, sells anti-virus software, but seems to be considered independent.
• EFF Deeplinks Blog – Not very active, but there are legal threats to security and they fight the good fight.  They also have a Security Starter Pack.
• Hack-a-Day – This is kind of a palette chaser because thinking about how to make a technically challenging physical edu-art projects based on the information I just terrified myself with will make me feel better.

Some of y’all may have looked at these links and gone all – “Whooooooa, slow down there, I’m sick with terror, not changing my career.” In which case, I’d like to introduce you to @swiftonsecurity, an awesome, thoughtful, hilarious twitter account. The author of that account has made an excellent security basics website, so if these are too much START THERE as well as the EFF Security Starter Pack.  To quote that site:

Everyone can be secure. It is with those four words this website is founded. Computer, smartphone, and online security does not require a degree or years of experience. All it requires is someone show you the way.

Speaking of twitter accounts, there are a lot more people with actively updated twitter accounts than websites.  I’ve put InfoSec related accounts in a Tuesday twitter list. Poke around, choose who speaks your language and follow them.

A reminder, though, we don’t know what is going to happen with Twitter. It is a publicly traded company with a publicly traded company’s bottom line. If you really love a twitter account, track down their website and add it to your Tuesday website list as well.

If none of these resources grab you, that’s okay. The most important part is having a time blocked out on a calendar to think about your safety and take necessary actions. It’s an on going process. It will be easy to get burned out and overwhelmed.  By the end of this series you will have a checklist that will help. Stop when your timer is up. Know that you’ll start again. I’m planning on being here daily for awhile. Join when you can.

More suggestions welcome in the comments.