{"id":576,"date":"2011-07-29T15:37:07","date_gmt":"2011-07-29T19:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techtonictimes.com\/?p=576"},"modified":"2014-12-03T10:45:11","modified_gmt":"2014-12-03T10:45:11","slug":"security-breach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abrahamsconsulting.com\/blog\/security-breach\/","title":{"rendered":"Security Breach? Go Ahead, Infect Me."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Security<\/a>“Microbicide research is developing a new method of HIV prevention that will allow individuals to apply a gel, cream, or film prior to sexual activity.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

An earlier post<\/a> highlighted the hackers pick for 2011 to date, with the Citigroup data breach taking the top spot.<\/p>\n

I am sure the officials at Citibank would have preferred to be number one on another type of list; unfortunately, we don’t get to choose our poison or how we are going to die.<\/p>\n

Unless, of course, you have contracted\u00a0 HIV, the\u00a0 virus that causes AIDS.<\/p>\n

Well, sort of.<\/p>\n

If you’re old enough, you may recall the worry that stalked every nook and cranny of our existence while anxiety and fear hung like smog\u00a0 at the thought of even sharing the same breathing space with someone we think<\/em> could be a carrier.<\/p>\n

Back then, we didn’t need confirmation that someone had the virus; a rumor was enough for us to run like hell.<\/p>\n

Or, we would carefully and and creatively ostracized ‘those’ people.<\/p>\n

Fast forward.<\/p>\n

Today, we date and even marry people we know are infected.<\/p>\n

Do you sense that the same twisted reality is seeping into our consciousness as it relates to the theft of our Personal Identifiable Information (PII)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The unspoken acceptance that it is permissible to compromise our\u00a0 right to privacy and security? Those rights for which our founding fathers risked their lives?<\/p>\n

The idea that our social security numbers<\/strong>, bank account access<\/strong>, date of birth<\/strong> and our legacy is up for grabs and that we should just accept it as part of our new reality?<\/p>\n

Are we tethering on the brink of\u00a0 “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em?”<\/p>\n

Or worse. Do nothing?<\/p>\n

The measure of\u00a0 whether most people have accepted this new reality may not have been developed yet, but recently I interviewed an Information Security Officer<\/strong>, a Federal Government employee, and he quickly agreed.\u00a0 From his perspective, security breaches have taken on shades of severit<\/em>y.<\/p>\n

Shades of severity is the unspoken acceptance of the compromise that I referred to earlier that responds only if a security breach<\/strong> is a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n

Sobered by his candor, I considered the numbers:<\/p>\n