It’s been two years since a group of security professionals came together to create a video which changed the way the industry said “CISSP”.
The group consists of analyst, AlienVault security advocate and blogger Javvad Malik, and professionals Andrew Agnês and Thom Langford, and are collectively known as “Host Unknown”. The video produced in 2014 regarded the role of the CISSP certification and the various roles of the security professional, and to date has gained more than 34,000 views on YouTube.
In their latest musical effort, the group focus on risk acknowledgement and acceptance. According to Host Unknown, where all three men claim to be the sole founder, “accepting risk is not a bad thing. Quite the opposite. Without risk acceptance, there would be no innovation.”
That’s a fair point; he who dares - wins. Or as Derek Trotter said: “He who hesitates, don’t.”
The group said: “The point is that you can’t innovate and deliver new functionality to customers by building a secure website. Or waste precious time ensuring your hardware is hacker-proof. If you do, your competitors will have leapfrogged you. Not to mention, no customer would want to pay a premium on your offering just because you say it’s more secure than the others.”
It is good to see risk being acknowledged and the challenges related to acceptance and the consequences. What Host Unknown have done is detailed that challenge, albeit to a tune that those of us know is the theme to the brilliant 2001 film “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” Others will recall that it was a number one single in 2001 in the UK.
So what of Host Unknown? Well some may say that their brand of “Infosec-Rap” is disrespectful of their trade, while others watch over and over again. Host Unknown ‘sole founder’ Agnês explained the long gap between songs: “When you smash it out of the park like I did with C I Double S P, you can’t simply rock up and duplicate that. It takes time, and energy. Luckily I’ve got people who back me up. My crew is solid and we can make this happen.”
Pwnie Awards judges, lets hope you watch the video all the way through this time.