Good riddance, 2023
It’s that time of the year when society deems it necessary to reflect upon the past year. Now that I’m writing a blog, participating in this annual ritual is my solemn duty. Unfortunately, I didn’t start this website until a few months ago, so my memory is fuzzy at best when recalling the significant events of 2023. Add to this the fact that most of us have the attention span of a goldfish, so I’ll keep this one brief. So, let’s run down a few highlights from the past year.
Homecoming and New Job
If you’re unfamiliar with my background, I’m on active-duty service with the Marine Corps. The latter half of 2022 was spent on a deployment to the Pacific, and January 2023 was our homecoming return. Even a non-combat deployment poses significant challenges to the family members we leave behind, and this deployment was no different. Needless to say, my wife appreciated my return home.
In April, I executed orders to a new command. My new role is with a headquarters staff, so I get to make PowerPoint presentations all day and pretend I know what I'm talking about. The best part: my commute to work is now less than ten minutes. I should include commentary on significant cybersecurity events at this point, but I'll save that for next year's article. All you need to know is that stuff happened, companies were hacked, people lost money, and AI did things.
Building a Broken Castle
Cybersecurity professionals across the board often recommend blogging as one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd. Hosting a blog provides several benefits, such as:
- Demonstrating technical skills
- Exhibiting writing proficiency
- Showing your passion for learning
- Talking mad smack to people
For many years, I debated whether I would blog myself and, like many others, simply assumed that I had nothing to contribute. Why would anyone be interested in things I had to say, particularly since I’m not even in the field? It's a tough question, but the answer is simple:
“Being an expert means you’re one chapter ahead of someone else.” - Someone smarter than me
I don't know who said it, but I came across that tidbit of wisdom and immediately set to work on building this site. I might not be in the field yet, and I might not have a lot of technical experience; however, even I’m more experienced than at least one other person out there. If it means I can help just one person on their journey into cybersecurity, then I’ve accomplished something. So, in November, I booted up “The Broken Castle” for the first time.
The Outlook for 2024
Big things are planned for next year:
- Taking the CompTIA Network+ exam.
- Running Wazzuh for real this time.
- Volunteering at B-Sides San Diego.
- Being more active with the local cybersecurity community.
- Writing more articles. Maybe even writing a few people actually like. I might even get on that AI bandwagon and have ChatGPT see into my future.
- Taking the CompTIA Security+ exam.
- Starting a cybersecurity internship.
- Finishing up final preparations for retirement from the Marine Corps.
Every year holds an abundance of opportunity, and I’m surprisingly optimistic for what the next year holds. Fingers crossed, it's not armageddon...
