10 minute read
Different perspectives
by Emily Goodman, Cyber Security Consultant at EY Jay Hira, Director of Cyber Transformation at EY Sarah Box, CyBox101 (consultancy) Baby Lyn Nagayo, Cyber Security Manager at EY Kavika Singhal, Cyber Security Consultant at EY
INTRODUCTION
Emily Goodman
When I was growing up there was a house for sale in the next suburb. My family and I went to the open house where the real estate agent selling it put on a grand display to show the house’s best aspects.
I remember walking through the wide front door and seeing a pianist playing on a white grand piano. As we walked through the house we saw modern, spacious rooms and living areas with chandeliers shining brightly. Outside, the garden was filled with greenery, the pool’s water fountain flowed and glistened on that hot summer’s day. It was the perfect house. My dream house. It was all a mere twelve-year-old could ever want. At the time this house was worth a few million Australian dollars, and I wished my parents would buy it. I even asked my mother if she could purchase it using her credit card!
Thinking back, seeing that dream house I wanted so much to live in was a picture-perfect moment. As an adolescent I had no idea about paying bills or mortgages, the tough real estate market, the process of getting a bank to grant a loan, or the determination and hard work needed to save sufficient money for a deposit. I simply wanted something, and I wanted it quick.
As human beings the notion of ‘get-rich-quick’ is appealing. The wealth we seek may not always be financial. It could be a new bike, the latest fashion item, or perhaps a new phone we have had our eye on. This theme also runs through the evolution of the cybersecurity industry. I got together with some of my cybersecurity mentors and friends to explore and share our different perspectives around this theme.
STORY 1: WANT OR NEED
Jay Hira
I was thirteen and the only one of my group of friends without a bike. I wanted one so I could join all the bike
rides. For months I begged my parents for a new bike. I did lots of research, found the perfect bike and presented its details to my parents. Unfortunately, the model I was after was INR300 (300 Indian Rupees, equivalent to $A5) more than the standard price of a new bike.
“Please, Mum and Dad, I need this one!”
As my fourteenth birthday approached my father posed a challenge: if I could earn INR150 in a week he would cover the rest. I could not believe it. My research and pleading had worked! Or so I thought. I usually walked past a construction site on my way to and from school, and I sprinted to this construction site hoping to find paid work. I succeeded.
On the first day I was tasked with unloading bricks from a truck for INR20. I was out of shape and this labour was tough. The next day was even more challenging. It was boiling hot and the work was more physically demanding. For INR35, I was tasked with digging and ploughing. Determined to get my bike, I got to work. I was exhausted from the previous day but pushed on. As the morning went on, I started to feel light-headed. Halfway through the job, I blacked out.
When I returned to my senses, I was at home and saw my worried mother above me. I was glad to be home and out of the hot sun, but I was devastated. I knew I would not be getting the bike and awaited a stern lecture from my old man. However, to my great surprise he embraced me (my father was not much of a hugger). He told me he was very proud of my hard work and determination. He agreed to buy me a bike, but it would not be THE bike.
While I was disappointed, this experience taught me a valuable lesson about wants versus needs. What I wanted was a fancy bike with all the bells and whistles. This would get lots of attention from my friends. What I NEEDED was a bike. A bike would give me the autonomy to see my friends and the ability to participate in the community.
STORY 2: CASH OR KIND
Sarah Box
Growing up I thought I was hard done by because there was never a great deal of cash floating around my household. My friends always had the latest clothing and shoes, and spare cash to spend at the corner store. I became frustrated and did not understand why my parents were always working, yet I always had cheap shoes and a lunch order only once per fortnight.
Fast forward to when I was fifteen and had the opportunity to go to work with my mother who worked at a nursing home. She would say hello to everyone who passed her by: the cleaners, the delivery staff, even those who were unkind to her. I remember asking why she always said hello to everyone. Her reply was simple: “Treat everyone how you wish to be treated. We do not know what others are going through and it might just help someone smile.”
Her words inspired me, and ever since I have followed her example. This could be challenging at times, especially when colleagues questioned my kindness, asking “Why do you say hello to them?” Like my mother, I simply said “Why shouldn’t I?”
Christmas could be a hard time of the year for some, including my mother and grandmother. Together, they would make treats for those who had helped them during the year. These treats were not expensive, they were simply chocolate-coated sultanas or macadamias piled into a coffee jar and decorated with tinsel and a card. The recipients of these handmade Christmas gifts included the garbage collector, the postman and even the hairdresser or local corner store owner. I fondly remember their gratitude, because of the thoughtfulness put into making those gifts.
Now I am older and have gone through my own financial hardships I reflect on times when I had little
cash. I continued to show kindness to those around me with zero expectations of anything in return. As Christmas is now around the corner, my children and I have begun thinking about Christmas gifts for our friends and family.
We could easily order products online from large companies. However for me, it is about making something with thought and love, even if we are time poor. Things we have made over the years include small potted succulents taken from our garden and topped with Christmas decorations recycled from the previous year, reinbeers (bottles of beer topped with ‘antlers’, an idea plucked from Pinterest) and bath salts with essential oils in recycled salsa jars.
These are our gifts. I could go on about the day-to-day interactions helping people, but I won’t. I will note that my children are often commended for their kindness, which is so important to me as a parent. I know parents and teachers who say kindness shown means more than cash. Do not get me wrong, cash is amazing, and can make life very easy. But if you have the cash to splash and do not have a kind heart then the cash means absolutely nothing, in my opinion.
I will finish with this quote from Harold S Kushner— author of the best-selling book When Bad Things Happen to Good People—“Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.”
STORY 3: SCAM OR SHAM
Baby Lyn Nagayo
A decade ago, in November 2012, I was riding a public bus in Manila on my way to a cafe to meet my now husband, Patrick. During the bus ride, I sat beside a male teenager who started talking to me about a mobile phone he was selling cheaply for Php500 (approximately $A15). Immediately, I assumed he had stolen the phone and was trying to make money from his illegal act. This was quite normal behaviour, especially in Manila.
At the time I owned an old Nokia phone which I was hoping to replace with a Samsung incorporating a camera. The Samsung model I wanted just happened to be the model the teenager on the bus was trying to sell me. “What are the odds?” I thought to myself. I was a student back then, working three to four jobs at a time to finance my studies and did not have enough money to buy a new phone. So, this was perfect timing. I had just received pay from one of my part-time jobs. I would not hurt if I was to buy a cheap phone with the specifications I wanted. So why not consider the new phone this teenager was selling? Ignoring my gut feeling that this was a stolen phone, I agreed to buy it because I really wanted this new Samsung phone.
I asked the teenager to help me put my sim card into the new phone, but he refused and said we should not be exchanging the phone and my payment inside the bus, because he would get caught. At this point, I was certain I was about to buy a stolen phone. Yet, I did not care and continued with the transaction. I was happy. I had been wanting a new phone for quite a while.
The teenager and I got off the bus and started walking towards the café, as was my intention. He handed me the phone and I gave him a Php500 bill. He disappeared into the busy streets of Manila and I went into the cafe. I went directly to the washroom to check the phone. To my dismay, it would not turn on. I could not click any of the side buttons and there was no way to open the back cover to check the battery and the sim card slot. It took me a minute or so to realise it was a fake phone! It was one of those display phones they use in shopping centres. I was devastated to realise I had given my hard-earned money to a scammer in exchange for a sham. Was it a scam or a sham? I would say both.
The lesson I learnt from that incident was to always do the right thing and trust my gut.
STORY 4: BLACK, WHITE OR GREY? RIGHT OR WRONG?
Kavika Singhal
Cyber-attacks are costing more each day. Is being a Black Hat hacker a ‘get rich quick’ scheme? This question led me to delve deeper into the basic concepts of the black, white and grey areas of cybersecurity.
Black Hat hackers are motivated primarily by financial gain, revenge or publicity. A renowned black-turnedwhite hacker has a different take on that. With a controversial past, he found himself on the FBI’s most wanted list. His antics had cost organisations millions of dollars. However, after spending several years in prison he now consults to organisations and helps protect them against such attacks. His addiction to hacking grew out of curiosity and the intellectual challenge, but he soon succumbed to the temptation of money and fame.
Another controversial group, the grey hackers, is motivated to change the world with ‘Robin Hood’ hacking tactics. Its members wage war against terrorism, fight for LGBTQ rights, shut down child pornography websites and much more. Making money is not a motive for this group, so should they be recognised for their talent and hard work? Not necessarily.
What differentiates black, grey and white hackers is a strong sense of right and wrong, their moral compass. The definition of this varies according to a person’s value system and background. Surprisingly, it is quite similar to how money is viewed, spent and pursued: it is subjective.
CONCLUSION
Emily Goodman
Reflecting over our shared stories, it is clear we all had experiences where we rushed into something head-first without taking time to assess the merits of our decisions. Perhaps this is the underlying factor that drives a cyber-attack, or the motivation for a hacker to act unethically.
We are all on a journey of learning from our mistakes. The experiences of our different ‘get-rich-quick’ scenarios have shaped our personal growth and taught us gratitude. Now, when I drive past what I once thought was my dream house, it no longer invokes the same desire. I would rather work hard, set my goals and earn my achievements. I will leave you with one last quote from Harold S Kushner “If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.”
