Page 55 - Cyber Defense eMagazine Annual RSA Edition for 2024

Twenty Years Before the Cybersecurity Mast

After two decades in the industry, we’ve learned a few things.

By Gregory Hoffer, CEO, Coviant Software

Sailors are renowned for spinning yarns of life on the high seas, voyages to exotic lands, and thrilling
acts of derring-do. But not all sea stories are the same. I’d much rather listen to a saga recounted by a
salty old seadog who’d spent a lifetime on old briny than to hear a story from a young seaman who has
yet to weigh anchor and set sail on his first cruise. In the first case I know I’ll hear firsthand tales that
convey hard-earned wisdom, while in the second case I’ll be lucky to hear rumors, fibs, and conjectures.

Experience is the Best Teacher

There is no substitute for experience. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell attempts to quantify the
amount of time and hands-on experience it takes to become an expert—for a seaman to become a
seadog—and he figures it to be 10,000 hours. That translates to practicing and performing a specific skill
or task for eight hours each day, five days a week, for five straight years. In other words, dedicating

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