Why Cyber Security Starts At Home

I find myself thinking a lot lately about how much safer we would be online if everyone knew and followed at least a few security best-practices. For those of us in the business of information security, we tend to think mostly about protecting ourselves and our organizations. But the Internet is a shared ecosphere where the actions of some people can easily affect everyone else.

“How so?” you might ask.

Two things immediately come to mind. First, and most obvious, victims of malware become resources for further attacks. For hypothetical example, there’s a random kindergarten teacher in Kansas who you’ve never met and couldn’t identify in a lineup. Her computer has contracted a bot and is spamming the world (including your organization) with malicious emails. Her computer is also acting as a drive-by download site, infecting any new victims enticed by the emails.