Who Needs Another Cybersecurity Book?

One could argue the last thing the world needs is another book on cybersecurity. A simple search of the term on Amazon yields nearly 1,700 results. A Google search of the same renders nearly 27 million hits. In fact, one could argue that cybersecurity is dangerously close to suffering the same overexposure plaguing so many once-interesting, now-irritating celebrities clinging to their proverbial fifteen minutes of fame.

So, why write another book on an already saturated topic? Quite simply, because one is needed. There are more than enough cybersecurity books that cover the technical aspects of the field. These are worthy of any cybersecurity professional’s bookshelf. But, there simply isn’t a cybersecurity book that clearly articulates why the layperson should care about a war that many are unaware is even occurring.

When we speak of the layperson, we’re not discussing the average consumer and his or her need for widely available and equally understood antivirus protection. No, we’re talking about the pervasive threat facing massive economies and civilian infrastructures, where noble cybersecurity professionals stand on the right side of a fight too important to lose. They are the unsung heroes of their organizations. They seek no glory. They know the cause is bigger than themselves. Yet, they toil in virtual anonymity, protecting all that is sacred to their organizations, while many of their colleagues play an unwitting role for an enemy seeking to do their employers in.

And, because motivated adversaries who seek to weaken an organization’s defenses know that these unwitting participants are most useful when they are also most ignorant, cybersecurity is simply too important to remain a dialogue within technical hallways. We must expand the conversation to include employees, whose ignorance is a bullet in the enemy’s gun. We must engage business leaders, including CXOs and board members, who directly or indirectly guide their organizations’ cybersecurity agenda, even if they do so not always understanding the ramifications of their decisions. We realize it’s not these laypersons’ fault that they don’t understand our world. We’ve never invited them in.

Enter “The Second Economy.” Think of it as a veritable Rosetta Stone that converts technical speak into business language. Does this mean that technologists shouldn’t give it a read? Absolutely not! If there is one enemy greater than the adversaries seeking to destroy a cybersecurity professional’s organization, it’s the lack of understanding among his or her colleagues as to the nature and complexity of the battle at hand. “The Second Economy” tells the cybersecurity professional’s story while it also respectfully challenges preconceived cybersecurity notions that have endured for decades, even while outliving their relevance. For these technologists, you’ll gain a different perspective on your mission, even understanding how conventional cybersecurity “wisdom” is anything but.

And, for all the non-technologists reading this blog and wondering if you could possibly find cybersecurity interesting or accessible, please open this book and your mind to the reality that your understanding of this topic is simply too important to ignore. Among the narrative devices that bring simplicity to this complex topic are corollaries—from Wild West bank robberies to staph infection contagion to kidnapping for ransom and more—all designed to put into clear perspective how the greatest existential threat facing our virtual world is actually quite similar in many characteristics to the physical world we already intimately understand.

This is a war that can only be won when we all understand what is at stake and the role we play as defenders, attackers, victims, or unwitting participants. The first step to action is understanding. “The Second Economy“ seeks to initiate the dialogue between cybersecurity professionals and their non-technical peers that, despite the thousands of books and millions of search results on the topic, is conspicuous by its absence.

Learn more about the book, “The Second Economy: The Race for Trust, Treasure and Time.”

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