I’ve held an interest in cybersecurity for a few years now (since ~2018) and it grew much stronger into 2021/2022. Finally in 2023 I decided to take a more formal step towards developing my knowledge and skills in cybersecurity as well as gaining some practical experience through an online boot-camp at University of Toronto.
This is an informal post that follows my journey into cybersecurity for anyone who might be interested in also starting a career in the cybersecurity realm.
There was no specific moment in time that I became interested, rather it was a gradual interest that built over time due to the confluence of my beliefs, personality and personal/professional experiences.
The factors that played a role in my interest for cybersecurity are: a belief in traditional liberalism, personal experience of identity theft/fraudulent credit card, healthcare and military background and my interest in bitcoin (the asset, network and revolutionary technology that it is).
Traditional Liberalism
In particular I value traditional liberalism (protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individual and the pursuit of happiness and private property; socially liberal & financially conservative), which is not possible without adequate protections for the individual against surveillance, coercion and targeted espionage.
Protecting information allows you to live and work freely. See my post on Digital Privacy as a Prerequisite for a Liberal Democracy.
Identity Theft/Credit Card Fraud
Personally, I was a victim of a credit card fraud and identity theft. Thankfully I am a diligent budget-er and I frequently check my credit card and bank statements on my iPhone. On one occasion I noticed on my bank app that there were some purchases for a few hundred dollars that I definitely did not make, so I immediately called my bank to cancel the card.
On a second occasion I received a credit card in the mail, ready to be “activated”. But I did not apply for a new credit card. Again, I called the credit card issuer and notified them that someone else must have made the card. During the investigation the card issuer asked me where I was at a certain date/time (I was at work, with multiple alibis, computer login-proof and security camera footage from my workplace) when the card was made. Turns out the card was made in a nearby city.
Who was this person? How did they get my information? I was infuriated.
My Healthcare and Military Background
I work in healthcare full time and everyday I remind myself of the incredible trust that the public puts in me not only for my training/expertise, but also trust with their most personal information. Everyday I ask very personal questions and patients answer without hesitation. Protecting peoples personal health information is extremely important and I take this responsibility at work seriously.
Secondly, I served in my country’s military reserve force (aka part time) for 10 years. As you can imagine, the military is all about security. Physical security, intelligence security, and cybersecurity. Additionally the military focuses on defense on multiple levels (also known as “defense-in-depth”), redundancy, operating effectively with as little resources as possible as well as offensive operations. My experience with the military helped me to develop and maintain a “security first” approach to life and unexpectedly nurtured my interest in cybersecurity.
Interest in Bitcoin
I could try to explain how my interest in bitcoin kick-started my interest in cybersecurity, but I think a quote from Andreas Antonopoulos will explain it much more succinctly and clearly. This is a quote from his talk published on YouTube on 22 April 2017 from South Africa at the Blockchain Africa Conference on 02 March 2017.
“Holding your own bitcoin very quickly changes your attitude to information security. You didn’t care about your photos, some didn’t even care about their sexy photos. You didn’t care about your location, the fact that everything you do is tracked. You didn’t care about posting your entire life on Facebook. You used the same password, “password1234″, on 17 different sites. You didn’t know what 2-Factor-Authentication was, and then bitcoin happened.”
“And then suddenly you’re on a steep learning curve and getting better everyday. Now you’re telling your friends about 2-Factor-Authentication and you’re horrified to remember how you used to practice cybersecurity, because storing value has this unique ability to focus your mind on the aspects of security that matter.”
Andreas antonopoulos, 02 March 2017, blockchain africa conference. From youtube here.
I think that explained it quite well. Essentially, when real monetary value can be stolen from you due to poor cybersecurity practices, with no recourse to get the funds back, you instantly change your mind on how seriously you take your personal cybersecurity.
And so from my political beliefs of individuals freedoms and right to digital privacy, to my personal experience with a hack/fraud victim, as well as my work experience in healthcare and the military, and interest in bitcoin I have developed a well rounded appreciation and respect for the field of cybersecurity. I look forward to building my career as well as this website to help everyday individuals improve their digital privacy/cybersecurity.
I hope that you join me in this journey to improve your cybersecurity along with me. Tune in for frequent updates to this website about how to keep your personal data personal and not the property of tech giants and governments.
You can learn more about this site here!