Persona[ls]ecurity

I grew up having to dissect technology like a pig in order to really, truly understand it. Living as the era of the internet was just becoming available to the public, most peoples' knowledge came from pop culture or obscure references made in movies. There was almost no way to get hands on competence without getting [a bit] dirty. Unlike today, you were at the mercy of a good textbook or someone having gone through formal education, the world was ignorant and it showed on multiple levels. Digital archives at our fingertips didn't exist yet, I mean Google wasn't officially a company until 1998. Yet six years later their company name became a verb for searching their archive of data,, web pages, and servers. A feat still not really appreciated even to this day where information is too readily available, or as my generation has coined it, the "misinformation age."

What I'm truly trying to say is the internet was obscure to most, available to all, but where was the security between the data we were byting off and the source of it all?

The idea that security should be integrated was an afterthought to their needs of the time, often pushed by data metrics and shareholder investments. Security metrics were not really talked about amongst everyday users, and was often times limited to privileged conversations behind SCIFs, or obscured within company meetings wedged in corporate speak as a buzzword that meant nothing, giving zero breathing room for anyone else. In other words, the average user trusted their emails, forums, prehistoric social media platforms, and software companies to secure their data.

It wasn't by mistake. Low observable security practices were built into the fabric of most "free" platforms. We all suffered for it.

The real value lies in the metadata. Tiny fragments of online identity, Micro transactions, daily eating habits, spending habits, geographical data, what car I drive, what my amazon shipping habits are and whether or not my partner's cousin's girlfriend's device ID from three weeks ago... Etc. is all collected, housed, and refined to establish my online identity. Perfectly packaged and readily sold on the market for cents on the dollar. All without my permission.

People in technical roles know this today and the mantras of companies touting their latest security training is almost as impressive as the information they're lacking; Personal Security (PERSEC) not at the forefront of any security conversation. Where is the security in depth when it comes to our personal lives? How come it takes a revolution of security malpractice or malfunction (couch cough Snowden cough) of insane proportions for the public eye to pay attention and wake up from their mindless doom scrolling? The thing is if we all sat down and spent as much time and effort into our personal online security, the world would be more informed on different practices and people would be more aware and technically savvy in order to host their own data. However, I cannot dissect and assume that people will want to follow if security is at the very back of their mind. This will force some questions that some will come to find uncomfortable.

Then the question should be, HOW do I implement my personal security goals with measured points tailored to my needs? After all, a list summarized by some A.I. agent can't possibly know what's best for me regardless of how "well" I can train or prompt it. If you have any peculiarities or discrete data sets yet unseen how can you measure a moving object without multi-variable calculus? Figure out YOUR requirements and understand where those requirements are coming from.

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The answer is more complex than I could ever pretend to know but I think there is a mean amongst the data available in how "the average user" would think about their online security practices. Security is not easy at face value, takes practice to implement, and doesn't offer the average Joe with a one-click configuration. Most applications or security companies offering simple configs are either lying or deceiving their clients outright. Which gives many a reason to not even bother with real, robust, secure, and scalable setups to ensure the longevity of their data's security. We learned how to traverse the internet and we can learn, unlearn, and relearn it again and again if we want a better and more secure internet. In fact, that's the only day forward but if you're not willing to make those moves, its not anyone's fault but your own. Lets look at the data:

Mean:

People want easy, simple solutions for security. If its harder than clicking one button, they don't want it and certainly will not keep up with it. In order to get ahead of the curve, you're going to have to get used to unlearning, learning, and relearning. That is simply the new nature of technology. It used to be an excuse to run from configurations, updates, or new technologies altogether, but not in 2025. So, in it's place, you have to create a system of curated habits that will allow you to shift and make simple changes quickly. All while still giving yourself the room to grow and come to terms with this on your own playing field. Setting up a playing field takes time and effort but once it's all said and done, you can learn and relearn that game of adapting anytime you want. This method gives you all of the power and say on how you want your life to look like with technology all while keeping your personal information safe and sound.

Median:

While one touch configurations are a dream, minimal interference should be the next aspect ratio to focus on and should be where the data suggests to be. No ones perfect, and since machines were created by man, technology then can't BE better than us and to assume that is simply science fiction. Thanks for nothing iRobot. In order to advance yourself past the hurdle of minimal interference, you have to be able to think quickly and fall back on your training. Emphasizing how much this matters won't mean anything unless you do the work yourself, after all, you are the only one who cares enough to make this effort for YOUR DATA AND INFORMATION.

Mode:

You might expect most people to say they want ease but what they're really saying is they don't want to have to THINK about it or have to reestablish connection a billion times for it to be secure. Almost like it should be integrated into their entire tech stack. Much like the previous two points, this one will be the last piece that we could say is our goal in creating a system and train enough so that the process becomes second nature. The rewards in coercion of the later two points will yield a way of life that is both knowledgeable and freeing at the same time. I know I work best with external motivation. Even if this doesn't speak to you yet (trust me when I say it will), keeping the process of understanding and knowing things as second nature should be at the forefront of your mind now, so that you can make it easier for yourself later. Call it a technical investment in your mind's future.

Solution:

Recommendations are personal but so is the fact that data brokers are selling off your data without your explicit and confirmed consent to do so. That should feel like the stranger you don't want talking to your kids, peering through your window at night. Which is why establishing your own system is critical. Abstract protections have enabled these companies to operate with little to no oversight and for what? So companies can identify when I'm historically hungry from my Uber Eats account and establish a root time to blast me with coupons? No.

PERSEC should be the first means of learning Network & Cybersecurity Engineering and that will be how I start my journey from a Systems Engineering prospective. That's why I decided this to be my first post. Something innately personal, yet is my source of truth so I can build and improve upon. Isn't that the very heart of Information Technologies? The old saying was every four years it was time to refresh your tech-stack or computer or both. Now that definition needs to be expedited by a factor of every year Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) gets noticeably greater in capability. Comfortably that means continual learning (or the change in cognitive thinking) must be the new norm of constant variability. Cognitive dissonance requires factors of learning that is, of in itself, harder than the act itself.

We all read that report stating using A.I. will kill off the next generation of thinkers. So as such, it's only fitting that these posts will never, ever, be fed into or filtered by any kind of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) in any form. Preserving the intent of learning should not be overshadowed by current capabilities of A.I.. No matter how much they make a difference in the now.