I have been working in the technology industry for over 30 years. I worked for many of the big vendors that are household names today and feature some of the best technology in the industry. It has been a great learning experience.
I am proud of my work and the many people and companies that I have helped along the way. However, there was something missing. Something was just not right about the industry.
No Plan
You see when I would visit a customer or client, I found the same pattern emerging. They just did not have a plan. They were bouncing from problem to problem just trying to keep the lights on so to speak. They would not have good documentation, or network drawings and almost never had any effective cybersecurity policies or procedures.
The problem I found would get worse as I moved up the ladder. Until you get to the very highest ranks of a company and there would be almost no knowledge of their own cybersecurity and certainly not any formalized processes.
I Can Help
I knew I could help with this. So, I started my blog to help educate the uninitiated and the non-technical on these critical processes. In fact, they were so critical I built a business around fixing this problem. I knew I could help them if I could only reach them. Jefferson said that “our country’s survival depends on an aristocracy of achievement built out of a democracy of opportunity.” I wanted to start to build that democracy of opportunity. So everyone could have a baseline of information on cybersecurity.
I wanted to show the larger business community that they could take charge of their cybersecurity and they did not have to be an engineer to do it. But they needed to take the steps and do the work. Get involved and educate themselves on the basics.
So I built this blog and even published a book which you can find here on Amazon and Amazon Kindle. To goal was to get as many people and companies to get involved and start making a difference in their company. It’s not that hard but it does take effort.
My Community
As I worked in my community, I also learned there were other needs where I could help. Non-profits such as IDignity a local non-profit that helps indigent people to acquire identity papers that have been lost or stolen. It is a huge problem and since they are dealing with peoples identity the cybersecurity challenges were enormous.
Unfortunately, IDignity did not have a lot of money for cybersecurity consulting so I did pro bono work to help get them up to speed and protected. It has been rewarding work and I look forward to doing more of this.
I am proud to say that IDignity has become such an important organization so much so that state and federal agencies from around the country contact them on a regular basis for help with this massive problem.
Here is a photo with some of the good people at IDignity.
Mentoring
Another area I enjoy working in is the mentoring of young people who have a dream. I volunteer actively as a mentor through an organization called Starter Studio out of Orlando Florida to help young companies get off the ground primarily in the technology field.
It is truly a joy to see young people with energy and vitality pursue their dreams of building their businesses. Here is a photo of me with two of my award-winning starter companies,
Get Connected
I love to hear from my readers. Compliments complaints disagreements are all welcomed. I believe in transparency and welcome your input. You can get to me via the contacts page on my blog or via my twitter @jerry_hutcheson. Or you can just comment on one of my blog posts. I read all of them myself and respond if there is a need to.
It takes a community to build up our knowledge of cybersecurity. No one knows it all so we have to rely on each other. I welcome your input. So, join in.