7 Cybersecurity Things That Drive Me Crazy
Cybersecurity should be simple, but the way most organizations practice it isn't. In this episode I walk through seven common problems that slow teams down and waste money:
- Framework fan boys
- The "not my job" mindset
- Certification soup on job posts
- "I do cybersecurity" as a catchall job title
- Cyber in a glass tower, far from the business
- Privacy does not equal security
- Breaches from missed basics: patches, passwords, and MFA
If you're a business executive looking for an independent strategy advisor, apply for a 30-minute call at https://titanof.tech.
Watch the video version: https://youtu.be/KxhXXUyWHQE
---
Independent fractional CIO for owners of $5M to $50M businesses. Technology and cybersecurity strategy, with no tools to sell, no commissions, and no conflict.
Work with me: https://titanof.tech
Transcript
John Barker (2025): cybersecurity makes the news literally all the time now.
Speaker:To the point.
Speaker:It feels like a three ring circus.
Speaker:Today I want to talk about the seven things that make me wanna
Speaker:throw my laptop out the window.
Speaker:Hi, I'm John Barker.
Speaker:And I'm Titan Tech.
Speaker:We cut through the hype so you can make smarter cyber and business decisions.
Speaker:I'm a senior tech advisor and professor of cybersecurity.
Speaker:If you're tired of the same recycled talking points, buckle
Speaker:up because this rants for you.
Speaker:Number one framework, fan boys.
Speaker:Why do some pros get giddy?
Speaker:Every time a new industry is forced under a compliance framework, the communication
Speaker:around cybersecurity has become so poor between cyber and tech professionals.
Speaker:Cyber is viewed as a low investment priority and only a cost center.
Speaker:So when business leaders in certain industries have ignored cyber for too
Speaker:long, a third party comes in and says, no, you have to comply with this standard.
Speaker:Now, typically this will occur when you're handing a lot of data from someone else.
Speaker:Think of like patient health records or government data,
Speaker:and all of the cyber jockeys don't have to figure out how to communicate
Speaker:the actual business risk and just get to start slapping on rules and
Speaker:tech and not worry about the blow.
Speaker:Just go look at any social media, particularly LinkedIn and see the joy
Speaker:when rules are advanced force compliance.
Speaker:How many people do you know that like to be forced to do something then every Tom,
Speaker:Dick, and Harry and Jane that couldn't sell cyber cybersecurity is now an expert
Speaker:and able to sell their services to an industry that has no choice in this
Speaker:matter, or the expertise news slash more paperwork does not equal more protection.
Speaker:Compliance should be the floor, not the trophy case.
Speaker:Celebrate outcomes, not new acronyms.
Speaker:Number two, that it's not my job.
Speaker:Myth.
Speaker:Cyber responsibility is very much like fiscal responsibility
Speaker:or financial responsibility.
Speaker:Everyone touches money.
Speaker:Everyone touches data.
Speaker:If only the CFO cared about budgets, your company would be broke in a week.
Speaker:Same deal with security reception to boardroom.
Speaker:It's a team sport.
Speaker:Many businesses outsource bookkeeping taxes, CPA functionality, third
Speaker:parties, and just as many hire a managed service provider or a tech company.
Speaker:To handle the it.
Speaker:The key difference is the business leaders will still take a strong interest in
Speaker:the finances and the tech kind of gets a hand wave, but has your project manager
Speaker:been trained that client data shouldn't be printed and stored at their house, or
Speaker:that their kids shouldn't be using company laptops to stream YouTube videos and then
Speaker:accidentally delete the files on them?
Speaker:Number three, certification soup on job post.
Speaker:Nothing screams, we have no clue like listing CEH or Certified Ethical Hacker
Speaker:or a policy analyst role, or most common one C-I-S-S-P for entry-level SOC techs
Speaker:or security operations center technicians.
Speaker:Certifications are tools, not universal keys.
Speaker:And if you don't know the difference between them, do you actually
Speaker:need to put the certs on there?
Speaker:Number four, I do cybersecurity.
Speaker:Do you code?
Speaker:Do you draft policy?
Speaker:Hunt threats, configure firewalls, saying I do cybersecurity is
Speaker:like saying I work in medicine.
Speaker:Hey, cool, but are you a brain surgeon or a dentist or a chiropractor?
Speaker:There are over 50 plus NICE framework job categories.
Speaker:You gotta go pick one.
Speaker:So just saying, I work in cybersecurity to me, doesn't mean anything.
Speaker:Be specific.
Speaker:What do you do?
Speaker:What do you want to do?
Speaker:What do you like to do?
Speaker:Number five, cyber in a glass tower.
Speaker:Some teams insist on being walled off from the IT department, like their guarding.
Speaker:State secrets.
Speaker:Unless you're building a product that is security integration beats isolation.
Speaker:Your patching crew and your GRC analysts need coffee together.
Speaker:Trust me on this.
Speaker:The more isolated you are, the more fragmented and less direction
Speaker:your company will have as a whole.
Speaker:Number six, privacy does not equal security.
Speaker:Privacy keeps data out of places it shouldn't go.
Speaker:Security keeps bad actors out of your data.
Speaker:Sure, there's some overlap.
Speaker:But they're not the same thing.
Speaker:Not even close.
Speaker:Stop using those words interchangeably before the lawyers and the hackers will
Speaker:eat you alive with this type of stuff.
Speaker:Basics.
Speaker:The basics, the basics.
Speaker:Number seven, every headline breach you read this year, nine times out of 10.
Speaker:It's a missing patch.
Speaker:It's a weak password.
Speaker:There's no multi-factor authentication turned on, or, or
Speaker:is turned off temporarily because somebody got frustrated with it.
Speaker:We chase, AI powered quantum blockchain defenses while forgetting to lock the
Speaker:front door, do the fundamentals, and this has to be across the board everybody.
Speaker:No password sharing, locking your office at night.
Speaker:You do all of those things, but we sometimes think that there's some
Speaker:magic bullet that allows a hacker to get in when most of the time
Speaker:we're not doing the basics and just leaving the door wide open for a
Speaker:threat actor to take advantage of it.
Speaker:Now, those are my seven, but I know you've got more.
Speaker:What's your pet fees?
Speaker:Drop them as a rage.
Speaker:Comment below and let's commiserate together.
Speaker:If you like this video, please give it a, give it a thumbs up.
Speaker:Feel free to subscribe if you're looking for some straight shooting tech insights.
Speaker:And until next time, keep your patches current and your coffee strong.
