Summary
Matthew J. Harmons ACM Club Cyber Security Workshop, presented at Saint Paul College on April 9, 2014, frames the modern cybersecurity landscape as a high-stakes arena where adversaries backed by virtually limitless R&D budgets that need only exploit a single vulnerability to wreak havoc. Through vivid attack-map visuals and a rundown of headline-grabbing breaches, Harmon drives home that traditional defenses alone are no longer sufficient.
Threat Environment
He first surveys the threat environment: adversaries overcapitalization, the evolution from amateur pranks to organized extortion campaigns, and real-world DDoS, data-exfiltration, and malware incidents (Adobe, Heartland, Target, and more). Harmon then flips the narrative to the defenders advantage akin to knowing ones own network, deploying active defenses (honeypots, fake devices), and leveraging tools like the Active Defense Harbinger Distribution to illustrate how preparedness and ingenuity can tip the balance in favor of the good guys.
Cyber Security as a Career
Building on these insights, the workshop explores cybersecurity as both a career path and a community mission. Harmon traces the evolution of security roles from SysAdmin beginnings to specialized certifications and scripting-driven administration with Ansible, Puppet, and Chef, highlighting the explosive demand and near-zero unemployment in the field. He closes with a rallying call for collaboration across ACM, ISSA, (ISC)2, and other groups, urging attendees to unite under a trust but verify ethos, prepare for emerging IoT threats, and drive resilient computing initiatives in their organizations and beyond.