The Earth is Not Flat

Okay. We admit the title of this post is a gotcha. But it’s also relevant to cybersecurity. How? We thought you’d never ask.

Consider: If the earth were flat — and unless it was two-sided like a sheet of plywood — it would always be daylight because it would never turn away from the sun. We suppose, on the other hand, that if the earth were more like a flying carpet and the sun rotated around it, the top would be light at times and the bottom would be light at other times. This is exactly why we’re not astronomers.

But because we’re cybersecurity professionals — and even if we weren’t reasonably sure the earth is round (we are) — the fact is while it’s light here, it’s dark there (wherever here and there are) and vice versa. And that brings us to relevance.

Let There Be Light
There’s a common misconception that the majority of cyberattacks are undertaken at night. That’s not true. But even if it were, it means somewhere in the world, in broad daylight, bad dudes are working hard to hack your digital environment while you’re sleeping. Since that’s true, the reverse is also true: Somewhere in the world, under cover of darkness, bad dudes are working hard to hack your digital environment while you’re wide awake.

To us, it really doesn’t matter if it’s dark or light. We don’t want bad dudes breaching our customers’ digital environments at any time of day or night. That’s why we do what we do.

Here are a few more thoughts: Viruses and ransomware don’t carry watches. They don’t care what time it is or that the earth is round. Neither does risk. That’s why it’s constant. You shouldn’t care, either. Regardless of what time it is, breaches and data theft are devastating and costly.

The actual time of day notwithstanding, if your environment is hacked, it’s going to be 0-Dark-30 for you, your business, your reputation, and at least some of the companies with which you do business.

We grant our bias, but that’s not a risk worth taking, day or night.