The end-of-year notebook closing post. Following the convention I have established each December, a brief reflective post before the calendar year ends.
This is a more substantial closing reflection than recent end-of-year posts. The cumulative trajectory through 2007 has been substantial; the ten-year mark approaches in January.
What 2007 produced
The cumulative 2007 trajectory:
- The DDoS book published — substantive sustained writing through the year culminating in published work.
- Multiple substantive incidents — TJX, Storm Worm, .ani zero-day, Estonia DDoS.
- Major platform shifts — iPhone.
- Continued cumulative archive growth — approximately 50 posts at the established cadence.
- Continued CISO role at Gala Coral productively.
The cumulative 2007 contribution to the longer trajectory is substantial. The book in particular represents structural-level contribution beyond what weekly notebook writing alone produces.
A reflection on approaching ten years
The notebook will reach ten full calendar years in January 2008. Specific milestone treatment will be in the New Year post.
For now, the cumulative observations:
Approximately 450 posts across all categories. The cumulative archive has substantial reference value.
Approximately 90 conference attendances across the years. Specific cumulative network development.
Approximately 2500 hours of focused reading across the years.
A correspondence network of perhaps 65 individuals with whom I exchange email regularly.
Substantial career progression. From DEC technical work in 1996 to current CISO role to published author. The cumulative trajectory has been varied; specific decisions have been informed by the cumulative archive.
What 2008 looks like from here
Several specific expectations.
Vista SP1 release likely in early 2008. Specific deployment-acceleration follows.
Specific subsequent DDoS incidents following the Estonia pattern.
Specific subsequent data breaches following the TJX pattern.
Specific Infosec Europe opportunity likely confirmed.
The continued CISO role at Gala Coral.
The continued notebook discipline.
The specific incidents will be unpredictable. The structural trajectory will, on the available evidence, continue.
What I am doing for Christmas
Nothing dramatic. The infrastructure is humming along quietly. The honeypot continues capturing useful signal; the cleanup of the year-end accumulation will be in January.
The family is gathering for Christmas Day. The notebook is closed for the rest of the week.
The book is in the field; specific reader feedback continues arriving; specific subsequent reading-group discussions are planned for the new year.
A request to readers
If you have been corresponding with me, thank you. The conversations have been the year's best continuing reward.
If you have been reading the book — or are planning to — the feedback through the cumulative discussion will inform specific subsequent decisions about further writing.
If you have not been corresponding, consider doing so. The technical questions, the operational stories, the disagreements are particularly useful.
The address is on the page. The signal-to-noise ratio of the inbox is good; I read everything that arrives.
A small final reflection on the discipline
I keep returning, in these annual reflections, to the same core observation: the consistency is the thing. Specific posts vary; specific weeks are easier or harder; specific topics are more or less interesting. The cumulative value comes from sustaining the practice across years.
For practitioners considering similar discipline: this is the lesson. The form follows the practitioner; the discipline is universal.
The book demonstrates the cumulative compounding clearly. Substantial book-length writing built on the cumulative archive of weekly writing in ways that direct book-length work could not have produced. The investment in sustained weekly writing pays back when book-length opportunities arise.
Truly closing
Ten years approaches. Twelve years from when I started a Slackware box that became the foundation of all this work. Thirteen years out of school. The trajectory continues; the discipline continues; the community continues.
Thank you for reading. See you in 2008.
Happy new year.