For a period close to 8 years, I have been a very strong advocate of software quality assuarance and a security envangelist.
It was passion that moved me to this field and nothing else! I had not been a direct victim of software or security compromise. My privacy had remained with me – for me, this was normal since my “ever conscious” mind told me what was right to do on the internet and what not to do. However last week, I had my own fair share of security and privacy breach. It started with a hack on my payment card and then a virus attack on my PC. I had used my payment card indiscriminately on several POS terminals when I travelled out of my country. I returned to Nigeria without bothering to check the activities on my account. The first time I would check my e-statements, I saw fraudulent ATM withdrawals originaing from Pakistan! My payment card was cloned and used to withdraw money from my bank account. As if that was not enough, I was preparing for a meeting with some final year Computer Science students, while trying to get some useful data from the Internet, I mistakenly downloaded a malicious software and in less than 24 hours, my computer system was literarily grounded. The virus determined when my system should shut down, when my browsers would launch and what site I must visit. it was more than frustrating.
In December last year, I attended a CISO roundtable organized by Deloitte Nigeria, a security consultancy company with CEOs and CISOs in attendance. One of the guest speakers said “cyber security war is a war that we cannot win” while I acknowledge the fact that malicous activities will remain in the cyber space for as long as the hackers remain with us, my security breach experience has further motivated me and strengthened my resolve to join forces with other security professional to keep fighting the cyber security war until we make that space a better place. No retreat, no surrender!
