10 Years After…My Thoughts on Josh Corman’s BSides Las Vegas 2023 Keynote
have known Josh Corman for close to twenty-one (21!) years. That is a long time for fellow travelers, journeymen, friends, and brothers to know and associate with one another. We are close and I value Josh as a person and a professional quite a lot. We have not always seen eye to eye — as friends and brothers are often prone to doing. I was at Blackhat this year. However, I did not get to attend BSides (which I regret given my history with BSides from the earliest of events and days). I would have liked to have attended to see old friends, meet new ones, and to see the talks. Among them, Josh’s keynote talk titled, “Together We Crossed The River”, which I assume (but didn’t verify), is a reference to Julius Gaius Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon.
Why this talk? What was so interesting and intriguing about this one among and above the many others given and delivered at BSides (not to mention BlackHat and DefCon). The reasons that I wanted to see and hear this talk were essentially these:
1. It was a 10-year retrospective of the “I Am the Cavalry” initiative — an initiative that Josh co-founded and that I have watched from a far.
2. In speaking with Josh pre- and post, I knew it was also very personal, in addition to being professionally important to him — and that meant that it would be important to me.
I watched and listened to the keynote two times in full while rewinding (it’s funny to me that we still use that term when talking about audio/video content in the absence of tape of any kind, but here we are) to ensure that salient points and detail landed in my mind and were given the due they required in processing and contemplation. It was a heavy talk to listen to and watch asynchronous to the date and time that it was delivered for many reasons — many due to the parallel experiences he and I had shared at the same time, delivering comparable messages to various parts of the public and private sector with a small, yet robust group of fellow travelers. It is and remains a road colored with conflicting imperatives, agendas, and ideals — paved with challenges and obstacles that at times hinder and slow us to the point of pain. And yet, it is a road — perhaps THE ONLY road that those who do, those who orient and choose mission first can traverse. I have often thought deeply on whether we choose the road; the mission or it chooses us. I have come to conclude it is a combination of the two.
Josh’s keynote (which you can found here) is worth more than one listen/viewing. In fact, I will likely go listen to it again and, no doubt, repeat my rewinding exercise to ensure the importance of certain points land resolutely. It is worth the time and effort, I assure you. As I mentioned, it is a heavy talk. Weighty and if you are listening closely, you can sense the weight and burden shouldered by Josh as he narrates the events of that ten-year period. It forced me to look back on the period of my own life — the good, the bad, the ugly, the fortunate and unfortunate in and outside of industry as well, leading me ask many personal and private questions (perhaps I will write on those as well later this week or early next; I need some time to further process and understand them fully). Josh and his colleagues, on their stretch of that road that I mentioned previously, faced a lot — with some victories, some losses, and much knowledge gained along with perhaps more than a little sobering reality of the state of things in our society and nation, not to mention our industry. He is far from alone as many others (me included) have had comparable — although different experiences in working with public and private sector parties. It can be more than a little disheartening. It can and often is beyond frustrating and it is almost always (without question) enlightening (enlightenment is not always complemented by positive ends; sometimes it is complemented by the stark reality of the world and our lives as a part of the tapestry of human existence).
Here is the upside, and perhaps the most important take away from Josh’s keynote for me: we are not alone as we sojourn toward a better, more consistent, more balanced, and secure reality for our families, friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens. For many of us, the journey continues; the war rages on, and the battles ensue with causalities and losses (in addition to victories) gained along the way. And despite all that, we fight on — because it is what we must do. It is who we are, and it is interwoven within us to do so. And I think that is why Josh’s keynote resonated so soundly with me. The ‘I Am the Cavalry’ movement (regardless of what some may believe) came out of a pure place. A need to step up and do something; anything to aid in insuring that our government — in concert with industry, works to change the tide in respect to the susceptibility (and probability) of exploitation & compromise of critical infrastructure — predominantly but not exclusively healthcare systems, in this nation by hostile, adversarial entities (cybercriminal and state sponsored a like). Josh shared several truly sobering anecdotes in his presentation — many private, many public — all personal and all of which weighed on him heavily none of which was lost on me then or now after having watched and digested it. One example that stood out in my mind — and candidly frustrates and haunts me was related to a loss of life of a newborn baby in the State of Georgia. It was heartbreaking and gutting to hear that due to a ransomware attack a child — a newborn (or anyone for that matter) lost their life. And that was only one of many examples he gave in his keynote. As I sit here typing this, thinking about the state of things in the world, my nation, and my industry; I am reminded of what Seneca, the Roman stoic philosopher said regarding things that man’s unwillingness to venture being tied to the degree of difficulty of a thing. Seneca said, “It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because dare not venture that they are difficult.” Go listen to the keynote. Let it resonate within you and ask yourself if you are satisfied with the state of things. Ask yourself what Seneca challenged anyone and everyone to ask of themselves regarding your willingness or unwillingness to do something; to venture regardless of the degree of difficulty associated with it. I think you will find it worth the effort.
