Cybersecurity Awareness Talk with TriVector FSO John Durant
Our FSO, John Durant, provides some advice on how you can stay aware and protect yourself, your company, and your family from cyber threats at work and at home.
November 1, 2022
John Durant has been a part of the TriVector family for five years and currently serves as the Facility Security Officer (FSO) at TriVector. Although he does not work directly in cybersecurity, John works to improve employee awareness of cyber threats through internal practices that include managing TriVector’s security clearance process and cybersecurity awareness training, as well as sharing the latest cybersecurity news and resources with employees monthly.
“I like working as a Facility Security Officer because I know that the work we do at TriVector is crucial to our military strength and readiness. As a Soldier myself, I understand how important it is to have technological superiority over our enemies. I also realize that our adversaries are working very hard to steal our technology and how important it is to protect the work that we do that supports the military,” says John.
This year’s National Cybersecurity Awareness theme is, “See Yourself in Cyber,” which encourages everyone to practice cybersecurity awareness no matter the type of job they’re in. At TriVector, John believes that “an understanding of Cybersecurity is crucial to the work that we do for the department of defense. We can lose years of technological superiority when we allow critical information to get into our adversaries’ hands. Twenty years ago, someone could steal 400 pages of information on a floppy disk and now someone can steal 300,000,000 pages of information on a thumb drive. Our adversaries don’t have to physically steal documents anymore but only need to penetrate our networks which need to be updated routinely. Cyberattacks are happening much more frequently and with much greater sophistication. We have great network security, but we also need employees to understand the risks that they face every day when they login to government and contractor networks.”
When asked what precautionary measures everyone can take to increase their protection against cyberthreats, John suggests for workers to cultivate situational awareness. “In every situation you need to understand what you are doing and the risks involved. At work, your actions can jeopardize the entire network and our daily actions in our personal lives could do the same,” says John. Developing cybersecurity awareness is vital in today’s digital world where everyone can easily access the internet and communicate through it within various applications and networks. Unfortunately, this also offers an opportunity for malicious people to prey on the millions of online users and companies who are oblivious to these cybersecurity threats while utilizing the internet. In addition to the cybersecurity training that many companies offer now, there is a plethora of online resources and articles available by reputable sources such as the National Security Agency and Computer Security Resource. “Seeing yourself in cyber” should be a daily practice at work, home, and while on the go while utilizing your phone as cyber-attacks can come from anywhere but remaining vigilant and informed of these risks and threats will create the best defense.