Its been a very busy year…

So I find myself writing my first blog post in a very long while sitting in a very strange location. It’s filled with nice office furniture, a comfortable chair, multiple monitors and computers, and a standing desk. I have a distant memory, even a vague notion I have been here before. And then it hits me – I remember! This is my office…at work…and not my basement.

Like so many Americans and so many people around the world, I went hope last March amid the chaos that was the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am entirely grateful to work for an employer who saw the value of protecting and isolating its employees and to work in an industry that was already quite flexible and mobile. We never really lost a step in terms of customer support or project work, but as a team of engineers working together and supporting one another, everything changed.

Microsoft Teams and Cisco WebEx and webcams and headsets became our new best friends. Meetings became video calls. Basements became offices. Lunch table conversations became chat sessions fueled by home kitchen refrigerator raids. Breaks became….well they kind of just faded away. Work and home sort of blended together, but we survived and we worked hard and customers kept running and projects got done.

In the middle of all that, my blog did not get pushed to the back burner. It got propped up on the back ledge of the stove and at some point fell off behind the appliance to become covered in dust and grease and largely forgotten – at least until now. I am back in the office. I am spring cleaning and prepping and getting back into the groove of things. I talk to humans in person again which is a little awkward when you have to fight the urge to press a mute button or turn off your camera only to discover you cannot control the realities of human interaction. And with this newly discovered energy and encouragement, I am going to rededicate myself to sharing my thoughts on security and security news.

Its great to be alive and healthy and able to work. Thank you for your patience! More to come soon!