New Year's reflections — You can teach an old dog new tricks

Every year in the military it was a mandatory requirement to conduct some basic training on some of the fundamental elements of being in active military service.

It was called Ground Defence Training (which probably dates me – as it now has a more Gucci title!) The training was conducted over a week at the RAF Regiment section (in my case) and consisted of a round of theory and practical exercises that taught you some essential skills.

Things like first aid, fire-fighting, respirator drills, weapon handling and live firing and a whole host of other useful skills. You had to do it regardless of if you were ever going to be deployed or not.

In most cases, pre-deployment also involved a series of training on weapons and specialist skills that would be useful when deployed into action.

I have been out of the military for 17 years. But I can still remember how to make a weapon safe, use a standpipe and change a canister on a respirator – useful life skills.

Another thing that stuck, however, is being confident with first aid. There have been several times when this has been handy and this is what good training does. It sticks and has an impact.

Unfortunately, recently, my wife and I had to attend to an elderly neighbour who had suffered a fall and was in obvious signs of trouble when we got to him. He was on his feet but not well so we did the best we could in the situation. He was eventually taken to hospital. Several days later, however, I had the pleasure of chatting with a nurse who had turned up at his house and she was amazing. In just a few minutes she gave us advice and guidance on how to deal with him (properly) and the importance of treating elderly people and the use of new technologies that can assist (he had an emergency call system in the house).

It got me thinking of the fact that although I have had lots of prior training and experience, and still feel confident and comfortable in certain environments – things have moved on and there are new techniques and technologies that are important to know about. You are never too old (certainly in my case) to learn new tricks!

And this is true in all walks of life.

I have recently put together a new Information Security course which had new and emerging technologies in it – which required some research on my part to get right. It also highlighted gaps in my knowledge and areas that interest me.

I have lots of certifications, I have lots of experience in certain areas and I have been around the bazaars of security for a while. But despite all this, I recognise the fact that there is still always plenty to learn.

I have a New Year's resolution to bridge some gaps.

I will be looking at some of the latest developments from ISC2, EC-Council and Microsoft in particular and start to update my skillset with the great courses that they offer.

You cannot avoid it if you want to stay fresh in the world of Cybersecurity.

I will keep you updated on how this goes – and if you are interested in my take on what’s hot and useful in the certification and training world – reach out to me. I don’t know everything, but I have access to resources that can help.

I am also planning to get out and about more to meet people in the industry and across the security spectrum. Watch out for me at a conference or webinar near you!

I might also enrol on a first-aid course as that is a life skill that makes sense.

I am already looking forward to 2025! I hope you all have a great year.

Celebrate long and prosper!