The end-of-year notebook closing post. Following the convention I have established each December.
This is a substantive closing reflection. 2010 has continued the cumulative trajectory; specific structural shifts have been substantial; the cumulative practitioner profile continues developing.
What 2010 produced
The cumulative 2010 trajectory:
- State-grade cyber operations becoming operationally visible — Aurora, Stuxnet, Anonymous.
- Multiple WikiLeaks releases producing specific cumulative subsequent insider-threat conversations.
- Hedgehog Security operational year two — sustained client engagement, multiple secondment relationships.
- Continued cumulative archive growth — approximately 50 posts.
The cumulative 2010 contribution is substantial.
The thirteen-year cumulative state
Approaching thirteen full calendar years. Approximately 600 posts.
The cumulative correspondence network, conference engagement, reading discipline continue. The professional trajectory continues evolving; the cumulative experience supports specific subsequent decisions.
What is changing in 2011
Specific things visible at year-end.
Continued Hedgehog operational development. Specific cumulative subsequent decisions about scaling are pending.
Continued threat-landscape evolution. Specific subsequent APT-style activity, specific subsequent ICS-malware development, specific subsequent political-DDoS evolution.
Continued secondment relationships. Northcott, Towry Law, specific cumulative cumulative subsequent additional relationships emerging.
Continued cumulative writing discipline. The notebook continues regardless of operational shifts.
A request to readers
If you have been corresponding with me, thank you. The cumulative network continues to be the most rewarding aspect of the discipline.
If you have not, consider doing so. The cumulative substantive practitioner conversations matter.
What I am doing for the new year
Family is gathering. The notebook is closed for the rest of the year.
What 2011 looks like from here
The specific year ahead will include continued Hedgehog development, continued threat-landscape evolution, continued cumulative practitioner engagement, continued operational discipline.
The notebook will continue. The reading will continue. The community will continue.
A small final reflection on the discipline
I keep returning to the same core observation: the consistency is the thing. The cumulative value comes from sustaining the practice across years.
For practitioners considering similar discipline: the form follows the practitioner; the discipline is universal.
Truly closing
Thirteen years approaches. Fifteen years from when I started a Slackware box. Sixteen years out of school. The trajectory continues; the cumulative archive grows; the discipline continues.
Thank you for reading. See you in 2011.
Happy new year.