Teardrops On My Firewall: An Introduction To SwiftOnSecurity
December 27, 2019 12:44 PM Subscribe
Swiftonsecurity is an anonymous American who works in the information security and networking industries.
They share their philosophies on technology and security, give advice, snark , and sarcasm through memes featuring the musician. They also coordinate decentsecurity.com a personal website with guides and recommendations for laypeople to secure and configure their home computers and routers.
A prolific tweeter, they share advice and remarks on news related to and their experience working in computer networking, information security, and managing and securing large groups of Windows computers and servers. Even tips applicable for many computer users like removing your public shopping profile on amazon.
They also have an inexplicable affectation to corn (previously on metafilter).
In additional to sharing on twitter, Their github page also contains resources for IT professionals in Windows
A prolific tweeter, they share advice and remarks on news related to and their experience working in computer networking, information security, and managing and securing large groups of Windows computers and servers. Even tips applicable for many computer users like removing your public shopping profile on amazon.
They also have an inexplicable affectation to corn (previously on metafilter).
In additional to sharing on twitter, Their github page also contains resources for IT professionals in Windows
Wait, are you saying that @SwiftOnSecurity is not actually Taylor Swift? This is like finding out that Commander Taggart was just Hollywood actor Jason Nesmith all over again.
posted by ckape at 2:43 PM on December 27, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by ckape at 2:43 PM on December 27, 2019 [5 favorites]
One of my favorite SwiftOnSecurity pieces is "A story about Jessica."
posted by brainwane at 4:27 PM on December 27, 2019 [10 favorites]
posted by brainwane at 4:27 PM on December 27, 2019 [10 favorites]
I love Tay, no question, but it should give you a clear sense of the current state of information security that the only real thought leadership in the field is a celebrity parody account.
posted by mhoye at 5:20 PM on December 27, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 5:20 PM on December 27, 2019 [7 favorites]
I love Tay, no question, but it should give you a clear sense of the current state of information security that the only real thought leadership in the field is a celebrity parody account.
The celebrity parody stuff has been in decline the last few months, though - as their readership has grown, they've shifted to mostly actual infosec talk and some other "random" content like the corn stuff or Cortana fanfic. Just not nearly as many deadpan "yes, I do this infosec stuff in between concerts, isn't that obvious?" kinds of tweets. They've even openly discussed their job history and career path, especially as their fame grew and they started doing even more promotion of other infosec folks (mostly women).
Actually, maybe that isn't obvious enough from the OP, so in case anybody's wondering - yes, this is (or at least has been) a totally deadpan utterly straight-faced celebrity parody account with the premise that Taylor Swift, one of the best-selling musical artists in modern history, moonlights as a low-to-mid-level information security professional in corporate America.
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:31 PM on December 27, 2019 [9 favorites]
The celebrity parody stuff has been in decline the last few months, though - as their readership has grown, they've shifted to mostly actual infosec talk and some other "random" content like the corn stuff or Cortana fanfic. Just not nearly as many deadpan "yes, I do this infosec stuff in between concerts, isn't that obvious?" kinds of tweets. They've even openly discussed their job history and career path, especially as their fame grew and they started doing even more promotion of other infosec folks (mostly women).
Actually, maybe that isn't obvious enough from the OP, so in case anybody's wondering - yes, this is (or at least has been) a totally deadpan utterly straight-faced celebrity parody account with the premise that Taylor Swift, one of the best-selling musical artists in modern history, moonlights as a low-to-mid-level information security professional in corporate America.
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:31 PM on December 27, 2019 [9 favorites]
The tweets are usually very good stuff -- factual, funny, relatable, well-informed -- but using T-Swizzle's face for it is just icing on the cake. I love this account like I love Thoughts Of Dog.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:55 PM on December 27, 2019
posted by wenestvedt at 7:55 PM on December 27, 2019
I love Tay, no question, but it should give you a clear sense of the current state of information security that the only real thought leadership in the field is a celebrity parody account.
Do Troy Hunt or Bruce Schneier count as thought leadership?
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:20 PM on December 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
Do Troy Hunt or Bruce Schneier count as thought leadership?
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 8:20 PM on December 27, 2019 [2 favorites]
This reminds me of Britney Spears' Guide to Semiconductor Physics.
posted by sjswitzer at 9:20 PM on December 27, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by sjswitzer at 9:20 PM on December 27, 2019 [3 favorites]
(Which is a terrible conceit, but FWIW the semiconductor physics is approachable.)
posted by sjswitzer at 9:24 PM on December 27, 2019
posted by sjswitzer at 9:24 PM on December 27, 2019
One of my favorite SwiftOnSecurity pieces is "A story about Jessica."
You're not wrong, dude, but this is also on tumblr.
posted by axiom at 3:24 AM on December 28, 2019
You're not wrong, dude, but this is also on tumblr.
posted by axiom at 3:24 AM on December 28, 2019
(I'm not a dude.)
I'm sorry, I don't understand -- do you mean that it's less likely to be good or useful because it's on Tumblr? Or that it's harder to get to or to read because it's there?
posted by brainwane at 6:39 AM on December 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'm sorry, I don't understand -- do you mean that it's less likely to be good or useful because it's on Tumblr? Or that it's harder to get to or to read because it's there?
posted by brainwane at 6:39 AM on December 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
Tay generates and shares excellent content (both infosec and otherwise), but also has shared some personal stuff about things like imposter syndrome and career progression. It's an amusing account and I think walks the line between personal shitposting and professional nerdy discussion really really well.
posted by rmd1023 at 9:20 AM on December 28, 2019
posted by rmd1023 at 9:20 AM on December 28, 2019
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posted by PMdixon at 12:50 PM on December 27, 2019 [1 favorite]