The Cyber Why: What We Read This Week...
... and why you should too! (5/19/24)
Thank you. We are incredibly grateful for you taking the time out of your busy day to read The Cyber Why. Every week, we try to provide you with intellectual content colored with thoughtful op-ed opinions. If you find it useful, I only ask for one favor in return—tell two friends. That’s it. Let’s make this “TCW Friends” week and spread the word. Now, onto this week’s content…
In this week’s The Cyber Why, we cover the resignation of the OpenAI “superintelligent team” leader, the debunking of the cybersecurity labor shortage, a monster week in cyber M&A, a great piece from Andrew Morris on the disconnect of the cyber vendor ecosystem, and a killer YouTube “pwnie” playlist to induce musical euphoria!
Don’t forget to check out the quick hits section - it’s SUPER rich this week.
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Super Intelligent AI - Safe or Scary?
OpenAI created a team to control ‘superintelligent’ AI — then let it wither, source says (TechCrunch)
It’s commendable to do the “right thing” and build a team responsible for developing ways to govern and steer “superintelligent” AI systems. It’s entirely the opposite of “commendable” to deny resources and let that team wither and die. That’s precisely what OpenAI did, resulting in several team members resigning, citing “disagreements with OpenAI leadership about the company’s core priorities.” Ouch…
OpenAI formed the team intended to safeguard AI development last summer. One year later, the leader of that team, Jan Leike, resigned in the same week as OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever. This does not bode well for the future safety of AI as developed by OpenAI. These resignations and revelations, alongside the attempted OpenAI coup at the end of last year, make me very nervous about the future safety of our computing systems.
Cyber Labor Shortage Debunked
There Is No Cyber Labor Shortage (Dark Reading)
I’ve often wondered if the ludicrous numbers quoted when discussing cybersecurity job openings could possibly be real. Here’s one example from CNBC.
“There are nearly 600,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. right now, and about 3.5 million open roles globally, says Lisa Gevelber, Google’s chief marketing officer for the Americas, citing recent research from Cybersecurity Ventures.”
According to an article penned by Rex Booth, CISO Sailpoint, there isn’t an issue with filling these jobs; the real issue is the requirements that are needed to be hired, making them unattainable for the majority of people who would want them. Rex makes a good argument by explaining that entry-level SOC analyst positions shouldn’t require years of formal training, multiple certifications, and potentially even a college degree. Most of these open roles are entry-level positions, and we treat them as if we have to find the perfect cyber analyst unicorn before extending a job offer. Let’s not get it twisted - I’m not suggesting we hire any old rando off the streets. If we have people with excellent technical skills and a high level of certifications applying for the role, we should hire the best we can find. But if you tell me that we have 600K jobs available and can’t fill them, we should adjust our requirements to fit our available supply and then train them on the job. My other intuition is that the metric of 600k cyber job openings is likely a made-up number anyway… making this entire discussion moot.
Cyber M&A Continues in 2024
Palo Alto Networks is buying security assets from IBM to expand customer base (CNBC)
LogRhythm and Exabeam Announce Intent to Merge, Harnessing Collective Innovation Strengths to Lead the Future of AI-Driven Security Operations (LogRythm PR)
It’s been a week of hot and heavy acquisition activity. The cybersecurity M&A pendulum has swung so far to one side that it feels destined to stay there forever. This week PANW and IBM got together to announce the sale of IBM’s cloud security software assets to Palo. At the same time, Palo has agreed to use IBM as a significant portion of its services arm and provide a clear path for QRadar users to switch to Palo’s equivalent platform offerings quickly. This one is big, and I have to admit I’m really not sure what I should be thinking about on the back of this announcement. Part of me sees this as a step backward for Palo. Previously, they would acquire the best products in the market and bring those to bear for their customers, but this feels more like buying the market and killing off a competing product type of play. However, if done correctly, this could unlock a new channel and customer base that Palo couldn’t access. There’s no clear answer here… This one has me scratching my head for sure!
Incentives Required - Altruism Doesn’t Work
Addressing the Cybersecurity Vendor Ecosystem Disconnect (Dark Reading)
Sharing is caring, and right now, the cybersecurity vendor space doesn’t care. At least that is the commentary posited by Greynoise founder and Chief Architect Andrew Morris. In this article penned for Dark Reading, Andrew concludes that a winning next phase of innovation should come on the back of collaboration - and I think he’s right! Enterprises are in a state of tool overload. The ability for tools to work together, for data to be uniform and normalized across systems, and for integrations to pass analyzed output effectively are requirements for success, and we just aren’t meeting those requirements as an industry. Andrew makes the point that we have to find common standards, operate via joint innovation, allow the passing of data that is currently limited by regulations, and effectively shift our collective mindset as vendors in the cybersecurity market. The one concern I have, Andrew also calls out, is that we are not incentivized to do this. Cybersecurity businesses have one goal in mind… to help secure the world to make money! Maybe I’m just a cynical old man (actually, that describes me perfectly), but until we vendors find some incentive that aligns well with growing the business quickly, we won’t see any change. As much as I hate to admit it, I think the only course of improvement is (/vomit) government regulation.
Note: Go check out Andrew’s company, Greynoise. They turn Internet noise into intelligence, and as long as I’ve known Andrew, he’s been one of the good guys… fighting the good fight for all of the right reasons.
Story #5: Pwnie Award Nominated Songs
YouTube Playlist of Pwnie Award Nominated Songs (tl;dr sec)
I saw this under the “Misc” section of the latest tl;dr sec newsletter. I have no idea where Clint (author of tl;dr) found it, but it’s the funniest thing I’ve seen this week. Many of the songs are old, but they still made me laugh out loud. The opening video alone is a classic that I will never forget.
Quick Hits and Hidden Gems
PMF Score Vs NPS & Sequoia Capital's Runway Reality Check for Founders (Venture Creator) - PMF Score vs. NPS and when to use them. Interesting take on how to measure product market fit.
Y-Combinator's Framework: How Much Traction Is Needed To Raise Funding? (VC Jobs) - Remember to take into account “marketing,” aka how you will reach the buyer. Build it, and they will come is reserved for baseball stadiums only.
FBI seize BreachForums hacking forum used to leak stolen data (Bleeping Computer) - Another breach forum is down, and another will rise to fill the gap. Risky Biz did a killer write-up as well. Story here.
Cyber Official Speaks Out, Reveals Mobile Network Attacks in U.S. (404 Media) - Mobile spying and tracking revealed by a whistleblower. If only I had a complete account to read it. Stupid paywall.
How Did Authorities Identify the Alleged Lockbit Boss? (Krebs on Security) - Krebs breaks down exactly how Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev was tracked and caught. Crazy good research.
Social Capital 2023 Annual Letter (Cahamath Palihapitiya) - This annual letter details learnings, observations, and reflections on technology, economic, and creator trends. Good read!
Unmasking adversary cloud defense evasion strategies: modify cloud computer infrastructure Part I (Permiso) - Super technical cloud based attack techniques blog. Digging this one for its “light technical reading.” Good stuff!
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