Here's a story of how pandemic disappointments and travel problems led to new professional opportunities.
The home to exotic animals, the rugged outback and fireworks over the Sydney Opera House as the world ushers in a new year.
Then - you guessed it - a very bad thing happened, something that had not happened in over 100 years: a global pandemic.
Shamane Tan, a cybersecurity superstar in Australia, asked me if I could do the conference keynote virtually.
We went back and forth on many cybersecurity topics.
I thought the story would end there, but that new professional relationship with Shamane continued.
She contacted me in July 2020 with a new opportunity.
We decided to write about true ransomware stories through the eyes of C-Suite leaders, and not just leaders in technology.
In November 2021, after 15 months of back and forth, writing early in the morning, late at night and on weekends, our book, Cyber Mayday and the Day After, was published by Wiley.
First: If your top plan fails, watch out for new opportunities to emerge.
This is really hard, especially if you are intellectually, emotionally and financially involved with Plan A. But perhaps a new door will open up.
My book opportunity with Shamane may not have happened if we had physically gone to Australia.
Second, online communication and new relationships can often reach a broader audience and have a wider, global impact.
Our virtual conference had more than three times the attendees than the planned live event.
After the trip to Australia was canceled, working with Shamane on the virtual cyber event led to a wider audience and future opportunities - like writing the book and more collaboration.
We did the Sydney Harbor Bridge climb, toured the Sydney Opera House, visited extended family, went scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef, spent New Year's Eve on a boat in Sydney Harbor and much more.
Here is a video from Sydney: FINAL THOUGHTS. I am so thankful for professional colleagues all over the world in the cyber industry.
You can interact with both of us and the Cyber Mayday and the Day After content at our LinkedIn page here: https://www.
On a personal level, I also want to encourage readers to think globally and act locally regarding cybersecurity, technology and AI. You never know what, when, where or how a good idea or decision you make will have international impact and open up new opportunities both professionally and personally.
Daniel J. Lohrmann is an internationally recognized cybersecurity leader, technologist, keynote speaker and author.
This Cyber News was published on securityboulevard.com. Publication date: Sun, 11 Feb 2024 15:13:04 +0000