Andy ITGuy – Information Security Blog

2009 has been a very adventuresome year for me. There have been high’s, low’s, up’s and down’s. As I look back on it I see that lots has happened and I have lots to be grateful for. I’d like to take a few minutes and say thanks to a few people and organizations. I know that in doing this I risk leaving someone out and for that I apologize. I’m doing my best to remember all of you that have played a big part in this year.

• One of the highlights of the year was when Panda Security invited me to participate in their first “Security Bloggers Summit” in Madrid, Spain in February. I spent the whole week in Madrid participating in meetings with Panda and several other security professionals from Spain and the US. I’d like to say a BIG thanks to all the people at Panda who made it possible for me to attend and especially to Sean-Paul Cornell who put my name in the hat to be on the panel.
• I’d also like to thank the good people of SecureWorld who graciously gave me a press pass to this years event in Atlanta. I wasn’t too kind in return when I blogged about the conference because I just wasn’t impressed with the content of the talks that I attended. The team that planned and organized the event did a stellar job on the conference itself and I hope to attend again in 2010. Even if I have to pay for my ticket.
• Another highlight of my year was helping to get the Atlanta Chapter of the National Information Security Group (NAISG) up and running. I’m working with a great group of people on the leadership team ( Ian Philpot, Renault Ross, MC Peterman, and Martin Fisher) and have been able to meet lots of security pros in the Atlanta area. Thanks to the leadership team and all of you who have attended the meeting this year.
• I’d also like to thank my former employer MARTA for laying me off in July. I was very unhappy there and was getting very frustrated with the way things were going. I felt a lot like Howard Schmidt will probably feel in about 6 months.
• I’d like to say a big thanks to those of you who supported me during my job search and who gave me leads and recommendations. I’d especially like to thank Michael Santarcangello for listening to me whine, complain, ponder, and talk through thoughts, issues and concerns. Also for his wisdom, advice and his willingness to plant a boot in my butt if necessary to get me going in the right direction.
• I owe a great deal of gratitude to Greg Lowery of Forsythe Technologies for his friendship and for talking to lots of companies about me and trying to get me interviews. Greg actually introduced me to my new employer (whom I’ll announce soon) and was instrumental in getting me in the door there.
• I’m excited about a new venture that I’m involved in. The Southern Fried Security Podcast. Thanks to Martin Fisher for the idea and to Steve Ragan for providing his “yankeness” to the podcast. We’ve recorded 2 episodes only one of which made the download site. We’re still working on the audio issues and plan on getting the ball rolling early in 2010.
• I’m very thankful for those of you who read my ramblings here also. I know 2009 has been a very slow year for my blogging but now that I’ll be back in the swing of things I’m hoping 2010 will see me back to 2 or 3 posts a week.
• I’m sure that I missed someone who I really should not have missed and for that I truly apologize. If and when I remember I’ll update this post.
• Last, but certainly not least, I’m very grateful for my family. My wife has been amazingly supportive over the course of my job search and has stretched dollars to limits I didn’t know existed. One of the best things about not having a job is that I was able to spend lots and lots of time with my girls that I wouldn’t have had if I were working. I’m going to really miss spending my days with them.

During all of this year I’ve been amazed at how God has provided and taken care of us.  So I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank Him for his love, protection, provision and patience with me.

I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and for those who don’t celebrate Christmas I hope that your holiday season is all you want it to be.

I’ve been thinking for a little while of adding a regular guest blogger to my site for a little while but just never acted on it. Well, today I’m happy and honored to announce that Ron Woerner will be joining the fray.

Ron has been a friend for the last 2 or 3 years and he and I think a lot a like (don’t take offense Ron) and he will be a great addition to the blog. Ron has been around the industry for a while and is well known in the industry. Most of you have either heard him speak at a conference or read some of his stuff over the years. He is currently working in the financial services sector and has wise insight into what is going on is security and risk.

I’m excited about Ron joining me here and I look forward to what he will add to the conversation.

OK, don’t be too hard on us. For quiet a while I’ve been considering throwing my hat into the podcast mix and now I have. I’ve teamed up with Martin Fisher and Steve Ragan to start the Southern Fried Security Podcast. We recorded our first “trial” episode last night and it’s already hit the intertubes for your listening ……….. a) pleasure, b) pain. You get to choose.

Please do send us feedback. We want the good, the bad and the ugly. Give us your thoughts on the quality of the content as well as the format and any thing else you think we need to do to improve. This one is rough and we will get better. There are several areas where I fade out (or Martin faded me out in post production).

In addition to the podcast we also have a web site complete with bios, show notes and blog posts.

We’re excited about this and look forward to moving forward with it.

Ah, the weather outside is frightful….. OK, so it’s not exactly frightful but it has gotten a bit cooler here in the south and it’s time for the December meeting of the Atlanta chapter of the National Information Security Group (NAISG).

This month we are going informal. That means this is just a time to get together, enjoy each others company and talk about Information Security and your plans for the Holidays. There will not be a speaker but we will facilitate some round table style discussions.

This month is also BYOC month. Bring Your Own Cash.  Since we’re planning on this being a less formal gathering we didn’t solicit any companies to sponsor this month so come prepared to pay for your food and drinks.

Right now the plan is to meet at the Lindbergh City Center TacoMac again but there is a small chance that will change. Since they have not provided us with the private room for the last several months we are looking for other venues but have not secured anything yet. If the location changes I’ll let you know.

See Y’all at 7:00 pm on Wednesday December 9, 2009!

Once again Dilbert hits the nail on the head. We’ve all been there where we have a recommendation that is “fool-proof” yet Management shoots it down. Then we’re tempted to just overwhelm them with our “vast amounts of knowledge and expertise”. Of course not insulting them is always a good thing also.