The Code of Honor

CHAPTER 3To Serve and Protect

“I will seek the best interests of others.”

– The Cybersecurity Code of Honor

“There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well.”

– Walter Reuther

“Love cannot remain by itself—it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.”

– Mother Teresa

We recently had the opportunity to watch a sharp senior security officer of a large medical firm present and field questions at a National Security Agency (NSA) cybersecurity conference about all that her organization learned from a recent attack they suffered. The audience was primarily made up of C-suite leaders who work on the periphery of our industry. She was addressing the rise in ransomware attacks and documenting the ins-and-outs of some of the more high-profile cases. She referenced some interesting details about the 2021 attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which threatened to disrupt the national petroleum distribution infrastructure, and explained how that company gave in to demands and paid the ransom.ⁱ Because gasoline shortages directly impact most Americans, this attack hit close to home for many consumers and was a prominently covered case of skyrocketing ransomware into public consciousness. She covered another attack in 2021 when the same notorious ransomware group that hit the Colonial Pipeline targeted a chemical distribution company. ...