I want to make the world a little safer and better. Both at home and at work. If we dare to face what is wrong in the world, we can do things differently. Then we can bring about change. I really believe in that. But then we have to look the animal in the mouth.
At home – a remote place in the middle of Limburg – I try to make my young children aware of the world around them. If you see what is not going well, you can do something. I teach them that with small steps you can take matters into your own hands. Or at least I try. And sometimes even with results :-).
We live in a chaotic, unsafe and rapidly changing time. It's easy to say, this is too big, I have no influence on this, but I don't believe in that. We can all have an impact in our own way. No matter how small and simple. That gives a feeling of control and self-reliance; you are not a victim, not at the mercy of the big bad outside world, but can proactively do something yourself.
But not without looking the beast in the mouth. People are often afraid of this, because we always see things we don't want to see. Things we don't know and don't understand. That gives us an unsafe and uncomfortable feeling, so we prefer to look away. But seeing the truth is the basis for change. If you don't know what's going on, you don't know what to do to improve things.
Change starts with recognizing what we would actually rather not see; in embracingan inconvenient truthso. I have made that my job. And have been sharing this vision with my team at Route443 for almost 10 years; a specialized cybersecurity organization that helps companies protect themselves against digital threats.
Super vulnerable
It is shocking how easy it often is to paralyze a large organization. Companies are vulnerable. Much more vulnerable than they dare to see or admit. And that is dangerous. We have started working completely differently over the past 10 years and many organizations are still in the middle of that digital transformation. Cybersecurity is not a priority and is seen as part of IT. But IT and cybersecurity are two completely different disciplines. While IT is about optimization, efficiency, scalability and continuity, the goal of cybersecurity is to protect data, systems and processes. In other words: if IT is about maximum availability, cybersecurity is about protection, shielding and distrust. And that is grating. That doesn't go together.
In the skin of
Cybersecurity is about preventing risks and keeping criminals out. We see every day that companies - large and small - are not sufficiently aware of the threat that constantly exists. They look at what they have already done, check off a checklist and think: we are compliant, therefore safe. But that's an appearance. The digital underworld has no rules, no laws, no politics. They don't stick to a checklist. They look at what you haven't done and strike there.
Cybercriminals are actually always ahead of our security; they are simply not bound by rules and have their owncore businessmade of. The only way to keep them out is to understand how they think and act and be one step ahead. So proactive. And that 24/7, 365 days a year.
And that's what we do. We put ourselves in their world, rub shoulders with them and do what is necessary to protect companies against this form of crime. That is our strength and contribution to a better world.
Edwin van den Broek
