Fireworks, Guy Fawkes and Cybersecurity !

So how does blowing up the Houses of Parliament link with Cybersecurity ?

THE HISTORY

It was 1605, England was in the midst of religious turmoil. King James I had recently ascended to the throne, and he was not popular with the English people. James was a Protestant, but many English Catholics wanted him to restore their religion to its former glory.

Enter Guy Fawkes, a Catholic militant who wanted to overthrow James and return England to its Catholic roots. Fawkes hatched a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament using 36 barrels of gunpowder. He would hide the barrels under the House of Lords and detonate them when James was giving his annual speech to Parliament. The plot was foiled when an anonymous tipster alerted authorities to what Fawkes was planning. He was arrested on the 5th November 1605 before he could carry out his plan, and he was executed on January 31st, 1606.

THE LESSON

Guy Fawkes may have been a terrorist but there is a lesson to learn from him – even if he is heralded as the face of Anonymous – the hacker group.

We can all learn that “even the best-laid plans can be foiled by a single weak link.”

In today's world, our networks are only as strong as our weakest passwords.   A single compromised account can give attackers (hackers) access to sensitive data or allow them to launch attacks against other parts of the network.

This is why it's so important to choose strong passwords and to keep them safe.

So, every 5th of November, stop and think about cybersecurity.

• Remember, Remember the 5th of November
• Change passwords and stay safe online !