A chance conversation with a Qualys customer a few weeks ago veered off topic really fast, but it led to another conversation, which caught a manager’s attention and led to my first blog post for them.
Placing a value on security has always been a bit of a black art. Things are changing fast, and it’s not much of a black art anymore. Now it’s more like sixth-grade math. So I took some time to explain that to our customers and readers, and how to use that to improve their security and get buy-in from reluctant infrastructure teams.
It probably doesn’t seem like the good guys are winning, but I think the bad guys’ business model is going to self destruct. We need a formula to win, and that formula is a lot easier than it was just two years ago.
And while that last paragraph reads a bit like a commercial–I can say that since I wrote it, right?–I meant what I said. Qualys signs my paychecks, but I wasn’t looking for a job when they called me about this job offer. I’ve used Qualys and I’ve used competing products, and while none of them is perfect, if I had to secure a network again, Qualys would be the vulnerability scanner I would want.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.
Very nice when your technical skills and your wordsmithing skills combine to benefit your employer. I’m sure it will be noted, and appreciated.
How was the editorial process? I imagine much less than writing a book, and more than you do here.
More than here, definitely–this place is all me, and it shows. Writing for them was pretty similar to writing the book, only much shorter since it was 1,000 words rather than 100,000. My editor is an experienced tech journalist we hired away from IDG. It’s been a while since I’ve followed that process but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Kind of like getting onto a bicycle for the first time in 15 years.