Seeing this topic win in a recent poll, I reflected and thought, "Okay, what was my biggest mistake?" I mean, there were plenty. The only people who do not make mistakes are those who do not try.

But today's post is about communication. It takes you time to realize it.

I should talk about cybersecurity in a language that another person would understand. I must talk in THEIR language.

That "another person" could be anyone: my boss, a blog reader, or a developer I work with.

For a very long time, I was talking cybersecurity to non-cybersecurity people. That led to many misunderstandings, disappointments, and missed goals.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀: Use the language the other person would understand.

Tweak the terms, make them easy to digest, bring everyone on the same page.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲: talk privacy, passwords, financial consequences. Make the person understand that a single phishing email could cost them a job or an empty savings account.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘀𝘀/𝗖-𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹: talk about lost customers, financial losses, penalties. Convert risk into money or reputation lost.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀: talk about sleepless nights spent resolving bugs. Ignorance at the architecture stage could cost you much more time, reputation, and even health.

Be smart. Learn from others' mistakes.

Have you made the same mistake? 🤔