There are plenty of things that have happened in our world this year. Tons to choose form as to what to make a defining moment. Think about it. Net Neutrality fight goes on, Wannacry makes worms smexy again, Breaches upon breaches, EternalBlue (or any number of major bugs found). Unfortunately all these have to take a back seat to a big old monster.
Yeah, Jason went there, and he is right. Sexual Assault, Bullying, acting holier than thou, it needs to be fixed. I have known may women in the IT and infosec world, all of them smarter and better than I. I know that I am not perfect, and I am sure I have creeped some of them out, made them feel uncomfortable, and for that I am sorry, I do not do it on purpose. I personally try to do what I can to make women (and everyone else for that matter) feel welcome and safe.
Like Jason, I cannot imagine what they have/are gone/going through. I just know what I hear, what I see, and try to make it understandable to me. Think about it though, how often growing up were you made to feel uncomfortable? How often did it happen when you should have felt comfortable and safe? How can you make changes, and promote the idea that we have to look out for one another. That someone accusing others of wrong doing is not a bad thing?
Discussion is the start. I have watched Georgia’s tweets recently as she has explained what happened to her, and the effects it has had. This is someone who has written some of the best starting pen-testing books out there!
I have talked about how the infosec community has helped me out. I think it is time we all put that same sense of community to use solving this problem. It starts by admitting there is a problem. It continues with discussion and promoting discussion about the issue at hand. Just like security, there is an end destination, in this case, no more sexual assault. The thing that is just as big is getting close to that destination. For every single step we take, be it Code of Conducts being posted, people being listened to when they say they have been drugged/attacked, or even stopping others from even getting to drug/attack others, we make a move in the right direction. We reclaim that sense of doing right that we are losing. We reclaim our community as one for ALL, not a select few. We show that we are serious about security, especially the security of ourselves and fellow infosec people (professional and amateur).
The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Take that step, right now. No time is better. Happy New Year