Kevin Beaver's Security Blog

A new way to bleed

I was in New York City this past week for my final keynote and related presentations for our TechTarget & CDW information security roadshow. Wow, 10 cities in eight months – what a great way to end our year. Of course, being in New York I couldn’t help but notice the *constant* coverage of the Occupy Wall Street protests that ended up turning a bit ugly on Thursday – the day I was leaving. Luckily I didn’t get caught up in their nonsense.

Once I reached the airport on my way back home I had several things occur to me regarding these people and their protests. The occupiers are the same folks who will:

• –break in line
• –litter
• –cheat on tests
• –ensure everyone gets a trophy
• –buy into the notions of “fair share” as long as it works into their favor by only giving what they’re capable of giving while taking whatever they need
• –flip you off when they pull their car out in front of yours and you honk to make them aware of your presence
• –hack into others’ computers for ill-gotten gains just because they can
• –never admit fault and hire lawyers to “prove” their cases
• –be heard at all costs but go to great lengths to shut you up if your views oppose theirs

Ironically, there was a Rich Dad Poor Dad seminar in the hotel where we were presenting. It was chock full of people looking to better themselves. I thought, what an interesting juxtaposition considering all the people  in Zuccotti Park who were doing nothing productive but, were instead, only holding themselves back.

The occupiers have no interest in taking personal responsibility for any of their actions. It’s always someone else trying to bring them down. They don’t understand that each and every one of us is currently experiencing the sum of our own choices throughout our lives. The occupiers want stuff handed to them using money that someone else has had to work to earn…and they want it now! Imagine this scenario just a few centuries ago where it was every man and woman to fend for themselves. Ha. Without the police power of government these people would never survive. But now we live in a society where government helps ward off such survival of the fittest. We’re conforming minions because of the laws that a relative minority want to force upon the will of others. We’re more “equal” now and that makes for a better society I suppose.

Folks, this is the very beginning of Socialist nations which, no doubt, evolve into Communist regimes – you know, the very political states in which “human rights” are violated and these same people would demand reprieve. It is interesting how these “smart” occupiers who claim to know it all have no real clue of history…much less how basic economics works. The free market that’s based in New York City provides these very people and all of us the greatest opportunity in history to do well for ourselves and our families. But that requires work and these people aren’t willing to do that. Too much risk and effort involved. They’d much rather argue for their own limitations.

I write about this because I believe STRONGLY in personal responsibility and limited government. Interestingly, both of these have a direct tie to the field of information security that has been very good to me and my family thanks to my willingness to take risks and work hard year after year to bring things to fruition. Yet, on both sides of the token – the anti-Capitalist occupiers AND the very people who *should* be held accountable for doing what’s right to protect their networks and information – I see people continually burying their heads in the sand and pretending that everything is someone else’s problem…It seems to be getting worse, but it’s probably just me.

Major kudos to all of you who are not only willing to work hard but also willing to think outside the box and not be swayed by mob rule.