Hmmm, is it time to officially retire the term cybersecurity?
I received a notification that I needed to update the payment information for my Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) account. Fair enough, this is necessary periodically. But I did not anticipate the can of worms that requirement was opening.
When I accessed the login area of the CAA website, a message posted there informed me that all CAA accounts had been removed as of September 8 and I would have to recreate my account. Really? Sounds like a data breach situation, I thought.
I checked online and learned that Equifax Canada, which stores sensitive information of CAA members who signed up for the identity protection program, had a security breach. Oh, the incredible irony!
So I proceeded with creating a new account. Right off the top a security code was required which was sent via e-mail. Deep sigh, I am so tired of these endless codes. The code arrived after a few minutes and I continued the process.
When I came to the step of creating a new password, the specifications were exasperating:
- A minimum of twelve characters.
- Three characters must be upper case letters
- Three characters must be lower case letters
- Three characters must be numbers
- Three characters must be special symbols.
Groan, where will this ever increasing level of password complexity end? A minimum of 32 characters with a specified combination of upper case and lower case letters, numbers and symbols, a fingerprint check, facial recognition, a retina scan and a DNA match? Stop the digital merry-go-round. I need to get off now!
I dutifully created a new password with all the specifications. But I still was not done. I had to request an activation code which was sent via a text message. Entering that code finally completed the convoluted process.
The experience inspired me to do a Google search to find out the extent of the data security problem. The answer was staggering: 4,876 data breach incidents occurred worldwide in 2024 impacting 4.2 billion records. Digest those figures for a moment.
The term data security has arguably become an oxymoron. We should probably retire it and toss it on the dung heap of obsolete terms. We are living in an era of cyber warfare with daily skirmishes, ever more devious cyber weapons and unfortunately a losing battle for the so-called security industry experts.
How I long for the good old days when security was as simple a physical lock and key and a dog that barked at any intruder. Sadly those days are long gone never to return.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is also the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel (now out of print) which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the Subscribe to this Blog: How To instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
Tags: Canadian Automobile Association · cyber breach · cybersecurity · Equifax Canada · metaphor · Michael Robert DyetNo Comments