| https://www.linkedin.com/in/billbernardchicago/ | |
| Blog | https://between-two-firewalls.com/ |
| Pronouns | he/him |
Happy Friday.
There's a reason you never see a pre-made 110V or 240V electrical connection with two different plug connectors and only one socket connector. They're simply a bad idea. Just like a cable with a plug connector at each end. Bad. Very, very bad.
As I am an electrical engineer, do you need me to explain it to you, or are you willing to just take my word for it? Or are you unwilling to accept that this is a bad idea unless you prove it to yourself somehow?
Now if I tell you, as a cybersecurity professional, that PII, PHI, and other similar data should be treated as a liability and not an asset will you simply believe me? Do I need to explain it to you for you to accept that as true? Do you need to prove it to yourself first?
If you were more resistant to taking my word for the second item than the first, why? Is it because I lack business credentials, and this is a business decision? Is it because collecting PII is your business model?
Insane in the Tech and Cybersecurity Industries
Who knew Cypress Hill knew so much about the tech and cybersecurity industries?https://www.between-two-firewalls.com/insane-in-the-tech-and-cybersecurity-industries/
Do you ever wonder if it's you or the world that's going insane?
I'd say that we have a sanity problem in cybersecurity and tech in general - we're the very definition of insanity! Read on for my take on how insane we really are in the industry right now.
https://www.between-two-firewalls.com/insane-in-the-tech-and-cybersecurity-industries/
Heavy drama in the open-source world of...
...Office Document Software.
Nextcloud, originally a fork of ownCloud, has launched Euro-Office, a fork of OnlyOffice (pissing off OnlyOffice). Collabora is weighing in and issuing comments against both OnlyOffice and Euro-Office while, itself, forking Collabora Office Desktop from the Document Foundation's LibreOffice. Document Foundation has now resumed LibreOffice Online which competes against Euro-Office and OnlyOffice.
(I think I've got all that right 😅 Correct me if I haven't! 😂)
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥 I unironically love this!!!! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Document software may appear boring on its face, but Microsoft Office is a big reason why folks still stay with Microsoft OS and don't (can't...) move to Linux. MS Office 365 is often used as a bridge to allow folks to move to Linux while still using Microsoft products in the browser but that solution still keeps them tied to closed source solutions.
Development of Free and Open Sourced Software (FOSS) office products, both desktop apps and online web apps, is a core and key element to allowing FOSS solutions to thrive - both for individuals and organizations.
This level of drama and fighting is indicative of a lot of effort and attention being thrown into this arena. I'm confident over time it'll settle and different projects will merge back together or at the very least borrow and build upon each's efforts.
Read and get your fill of the drama here: https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/02/eurooffice_forks_onlyoffice/
Happy Friday!
The past two days saw the first Linux Village event focused on helping the "Linux Curious" learn some of the basics and try out Linux as their daily driver OS. There will be many more to come, but thanks to @CypherCon for giving us the space to do this.
Now to be just an attendee at @BSidesMKE !
Legal Special: The Week of March 23, 2026 Was a Humdinger For Online Life
Three seismic rulings were handed down last week that will impact the Internet as we know it for some time to come. These were two very different topics that coincidentally came to conclusions at about the same time. I believe all three cases are absolute wins for us individuals and
So I'm no lawyer. We should get that out right away. But even I noticed that last week was something notable in terms of legal decisions that will impact our collective online life going forward. Follow the link and read on if you're interested in what not-a-lawyer me thinks of Google, Meta, and Sony's bad week in court.
Happy Friday!
Forgive the meme here, but today's picture does bring up a good point: can you function offline? Can you navigate around town without GPS? Can you open your garage door if the WiFi is down? Can you figure out how to cook dinner if you can't get to that recipe website? Do you even own a deck of cards?
Sometimes the best way to recognize dependencies is to try to do without them. From there you can decide which ones to decouple from because you can't afford to be stuck without.
Between Two Firewalls
Tinker ☀️