Why Pirates?

Ever since man has moved valuable goods from one place to another there have been pirates ready to steal those goods, from the pirates of the Barbary Coast (who terrorized the Mediterranean for more than 500 years), to the buccaneers of the Spanish Main, to the modern-day pirates of the Somalian coast. Today, much of the "valuable goods" that are being transported consist of information - valuable bits and bytes sent electronically across computer systems. The people who make it their business to steal this information are usually referred to as pirates, also. There is good reason to call them pirates, too. Even though modern computer pirates don't employ physical confrontations or violence, their technique is similar to historical pirates in that their crimes are crimes of opportunity.

In the old days, pirates would sail around looking for targets that presented the best risk/reward ratio they could find. In other words, a ship with a little bit of gold and no protection presented a much better target than a ship with tons of gold and lots of protection (such as cannons, soldiers, and escort ships). Digital pirates operate the same way. An unprotected (or under-protected) computer system is their preferred choice; easy-in,easy-out, and on to the next victim.

Make no mistake, these modern-day pirates are out there and are every bit as organized and ruthless as historical pirates when it comes to finding and taking booty. And what is today's pirate booty? Information. The stakes can be much higher for the owners today, though. Unlike old ships that could only carry a limited amount of wealth, a modern computer system can contain unlimited amounts of wealth in the form of social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers and company information. A computer without protection is an open invitation to financial loss for the owner and the owner's customers and associates.

PT Consulting is an expert at providing an effective defense against today's pirates. I, Pernell Taylor, just happen to be an actual pirate, too. A long time student of the pirates of the Caribbean, I am also a pirate reenactor and educator. Does that make me a better IT person than the next guy? Not necessarily - my 22+ years of experience in small-, medium-, and enterprise-level environments does that. But being a student of the pirate mentality gives me, I think, an extra edge when it comes to giving you the best in network configuration and security.