It's both rewarding and disturbing to note that in the late 90s early 2000s, I was involved with a group made up of cyber security and law enforcement, nationally and internationally to bring us all together to be made aware and educate one another on cyber security threats. I may have mentioned this before, and I'll mention it again. Because we need good news at this point in our country.
To do something unheard of at the time. To bring good hackers and law enforcement in all its forms, together. To share knowledge and be made aware of things out of the scope of law enforcement and many business entities.
We had speakers like Richard Clarke, I believe Gen. Michael Hayden, the President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure, and many others. Attendees included law enforcement from FBI, Secret Service,NSA and other "no such agencies", as well as local state and city police, Royal Canadian Mounties, even some from Australia showed up. Our group set up the first cyber crime team for our local city police department which they then took over.
We discussed avenues of corrections, how to address those in power to rectify situations, and we had a strong concern for our situation at the time . Not enough was being done.
Corporations weren't putting more than a single percentage point of their budget into cyber security concerns at the time (and the government wasn't much better). When it could cost them a lot more and has from time to time. Some of our efforts did save a lot of money, time and resources.
We worried. But our efforts did a great deal in making people aware all the way up to the president. Things did change, but not enough. Still to date we've been effective if not lucky.
Russia has been testing our systems, in event of an all out war. We had discussed our electric grids, black hats, white hats, the Chinese Red Hackers, their China Eagles who were supported by their military who were a problem at the time.
Now it is more Russia who is the problem. And North Korea.
There is one great man in particular whom I worked with, who deserves the credit for this group, for thinking of it, for pulling things together, for having beers with those who would never talk together and then, bringing their knowledge, if not themselves all together in the same room to help one another.
And even we were all surprised how well that worked out. Not a little of it because of that one man and his big heart and his big brain. They were each entity, hackers and law enforcement, both surprised by their overall lack of paranoia toward one another and the understanding each had toward the other, once they had a common goal, to protect America and actually sat down and talked together, easily becoming fascinated by the subject matter and the intricacies of the technologies and dynamics of both cyber and national security.
I will not name him. You will not find him on the internet. I could not, not in this context. I was able to "find" him mentioned, but hat was it and there is no connection to anyo fthis. Nor will you most likely find anything about this group.
Though he may very well end up seeing this post himself, or though someone mentioning it to him. But I thank him now for all his efforts (I have thanked him personally more than once in the past), and for you all and always and again from myself.
Many are unnamed and always will be in this work.
But we were then at a time we needed to be and much was done to help our country and our neighboring countries and friends. And they helped others.
I'm glad to have been involved at that time, I miss those meetings which may still be going on. I've left that business for artistic pursuits.
But there are people out there, working hard, day and night to protect us. And I know our efforts back then and possibly still now, paid off.
I just thought you should know.
Cheers!
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