Reflections on Cybersecurity: Lessons from the Early Days to Modern Zero Trust

It’s the third coffee of the morning, and I’m wired — not only from caffeine but from the adrenaline that also pulses whenever I plunge into cybersecurity. Have been doing this dance since the early 90s (began as a network admin in ‘93, if you must know). I remember squatting over rows of MUXes, serving voice and data over PSTN, feeling the pulse of wires and bolts like some digital grease monkey. It’s a world that has changed beyond recognition — but some of the basics? They are as true today as then.

The Slammer worm, for example. Fifteen years ago, it cut through networks like a hot knife through butter. I had seen with my own eyes what happened when those consoles got left unpatched, and it was the worst of every possible world: outages overnight, banks offline, people in the east flailing. Learned a hard lesson: security is not a box to check; it is your survival.

Fast forward in time, now I have my own security outfit P J Networks. Recently assisted three banks in revamping their zero-trust architectures. And yesterday…came back from DefCon – still have the grime from the hardware hacking village all over my hands (not literally). The insights I picked up? I’ll get to them — but first, let me tell you some of my war stories – and what you can learn from them in defending your business.

The Beginning: Networking and Lessons via Praxis

I am an old-man of the security world, I started back before the buzzword bingo began: firewalls, next-gen IDS, AI-based anything… nope. It was command-line configs, crossovers and sometimes blind faith that your dial-up wasn’t going to fail when you were in the middle of an important transaction. That era taught me:

• Networks are kitchens. Just as a chef wants sharp knives and fresh ingredients, you need clean routes and airtight configs. A You can’t cook well if the fundamentals are rotten.
• Patch management is your stove’s gas supply — you turn it off and nothing gets cooked.
• Overconfidence is a killer. Slammer worm used a trivial SQL Server bug – one that no-one was bothered to patch. Lesson: Outdated systems should never be ignored.

I still have scars from that worm. A bank once lost half of a day’s worth of transactions. The money was not gone but the trust? Priceless damage.

Zero Trust: Not a Buzzword

Now about zero trust: I’ve helped three banks rebuild it from scratch in the past few months. Don’t mistake it for simply locking down all the doors — zero trust means trusting no one and questioning every identity, device and connection all the time. It’s essentially a neighborhood watch at a gated community, only instead of trusting your neighbors because you know their faces, you check IDs every single time they ring the bell.

Zero trust means:

• Least privilege access, not just “password protected.
• Micro-segmentation that decouples your crown jewels.
• Continuous monitoring and analytics, no more of that “set and forget.”

But many people assume that you can just install a lot of fancy tools and you’ll be good to go.

Warning: If your vendor utters the words, “AI-powered zero trust” and totes a magic wand promising shimmering results, don’t buy into it overmuch. AI is a means, not a panacea. Garbage in, garbage out. Trust me: I have witnessed more hyperbole about artificial intelligence than constructive reality.

DefCon and the Hardware Hacking Village — Eye-Opener

Came back from DefCon and whoa… the hardware hacking village was inspiring.

Why hardware hacking is even a thing? For every cloud and virtualized system is built on physical devices — servers, routers, firewalls. If you’re able to root a device physically or through some obscure firmware flaw, the whole network is compromised.

Here are key takeaways:

• Old routers, with firmware that needs updating? Sitting ducks. Hackers can’t get enough of them any more than kids want more candy.
• Supply chain attacks are not an urban legend. I watched demos of compromised hardware being shipped with backdoors built in.
• Physical access = total control (that one should be obvious but continues to be underrated).

My advice:

• Regularly check out latest firmware.
• Consider hardware attack surfaces as being critical.
• Train personnel on the dangers of physical & supply chain compromises.

We fuss a lot about phishing or malware from the outside — but on the inside, your hardware is silently yelling vulnerabilities.

The Password Policies — A Rant In Masquerade

I just have to say this: password policies are terrible.

Every one insists on complexity, on at times and here and there, but what occurs? Someone writes out passwords on sticky notes taped to a computer monitor, or uses “Password123!” because it’s “easy to recall.”

Here’s my take:

• Focus on length instead of complexity. A passphrase beats Pa$$w0rd! any day.
• Do not enforce 30-day reset policies. They do more harm than good.
• Invest in MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication). This is table stakes for any halfway decent org.

People want quick fixes. No such thing. The best security is one that functions in the real world, not the textbook.

Firewall, Servers, Routers – Your Security Three-legged Stool

Now, that is old-school tech that refuses to die. Yes, cloud is in style — but your firewalls, your routers, your servers often still provide your security’s backbone.

Here’s what does not change across decades:

• firewalls: rule-sets should be wall, tight, and well trimmed. Far too many orgs treat them as junk drawers — useless clutter that invites vulnerabilities.
• Servers: Hardened, minimal services, routinely patched (there’s that word again).
• Routers: Not only traffic directors, but bouncers. Segment your internal networks smartly, and don’t hand out admin access over default credentials. Seriously.

How about those days when Cisco IOS was our backyard? If you have older gear, it may be time for a little audit and an upgrade here.

Quick Take What You Can Do Today

• Review every point of access — this means your hardware, not just user names and passwords.
• Throw out the ancient password policies and provide users with multi-factor authentication.
• Regular patch and firmware checks (servers, routers, the lot).
• Zero trust is not a solo act — Work across teams with leadership support.
• Don’t believe the hype — especially that A.I.-driven security. Know what you’re really getting.
• Physically secure devices. Hardware hacking is indeed real and is here to stay.

Parting Thoughts

How cybersecurity has changed since my youth at the end of phone lines and multiplexers. Technology changes, threats change, but the human variable is still the vulnerable one.

I’ve made my fair share of mistakes (someone ask me about that 2005 misconfigured firewall some time). But what I’ve learned and what I would want businesses to remember is this:

Security is not just tech or policies — its a mindset.

And it begins by asking questions. Who’s accessing what? Why? And whom do you really know they should?

So if you are considering your cyber defenses today, just use an analogy from my old network admin’s kitchen: ensure your recipe is solid, your ingredients are fresh, and don’t use gimmicks. You don’t trust a microwave to make a cake from scratch, don’t trust any black box security tool until you truly understand it.

May your networks be cool, your patches current and your passwords? Passphrases memorized, yes please.

Now, it’s time for coffee number four-because this discussion is far from over.