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The Race to Resolution

Jeff Michael, Senior Global Solutions Architect, Hexis Cyber Solutions.

When Indy car racing had its debut many
years ago it looked nothing like it does
today.

The average speed of the cars was 75mph,
with today’s cars going more than
200mph. As technology evolved, so did the
car and the driver.

From 1911 to 1922 all cars had a riding
mechanic onboard.

“A riding mechanic was a mechanic that
rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and
repairing the car during the race.

The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, observing gauges,
and even massaging the driver's hands. They also communicated with the pits and spotted from
inside the car.

If the car ran out of fuel, or otherwise broke down, the riding mechanic was usually responsible for
running back to the pits to fetch fuel or the necessary spare parts.” (Link)

Every task and every communication was handled manually. In today’s Indy cars the Pit can
automatically assess and monitor every variable of the car.

In addition, the Pit can be in constant communication with the driver.

The Pit crew can now take the information it receives from the car and correlate it with the
information received from the driver to make the car and driver as competitive as possible.

Today’s networks really aren’t any different.

Most organizations today are still using technology that requires very manual tasks, and multiple
people working numerous jobs to just maintain their existing security stance.

Just like the riding mechanic, it is often an overwhelming task with little or no success. Except,
unlike the riding mechanic, the job of securing a network never ends.

Almost everything that happens in an enterprise passes through the network.

40 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – October 2015 Edition
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