I Blew It

I clicked on the e-mail without looking carefully. I wonder if you can see it. It looked like this: 

I did not notice the third "o" in Google, thought that my password was compromised, and clicked on the link to "Take action." Fortunately, for me, once I clicked on that button, I realized that it was a phony e-mail. I closed the window, and reported it immediately to Dr. Steven Arnoff, our Director of Technology. It was indeed a "phishing test." And I failed. 

KnowBe4 is the company we partner with to avoid making mistakes like these; like exactly the one I made. The company's mission is to enable employees "to make smarter security decisions, everyday." I pride myself on being a thoughtful digital citizen, and work hard to spot messages that are clearly looking for my login credentials. And yet, on March 30, 2023, a little after ten in the morning, I goofed. 

Dr. Arnoff was quick to point out my error, and helped me look for other clues to not make the same mistake again. I often tell people, I make plenty of mistakes, but rarely do I make the same mistake twice. Stay tuned, as I doubt this will be the last phishing test e-mail that comes to my inbox this year!

This experience though reminded me that we all make mistakes, despite our best efforts. It's what we do after those mistakes that makes the difference. I didn't share any of my passwords and closed the browser once I knew I had taken a misstep. I reached out to Dr. Arnoff and just this past week, received a message about doing some refresher training as a result: 

I completed my training, and won't let an extra "o" go by the next time. 

I share all this because none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. It's widely understood and sometimes trite, but nevertheless must be accepted. Even in the heat of the moment. Our world is full of examples of people who make snap decisions, based on momentary lapses of judgement. The more decent and kind we can be to each other when mistakes happen, the better off we will all be. 

Clearly, there are some mistakes from which there is no going back. Consider an athlete that had committed to play a sport at a Division I college lost his spot, after posting something on social media that included a racially inappropriate word. That position on that team is gone; but the work to repair those relationships has just begun. 

Nobody is perfect. No relationship is perfect. Certainly we see that everyday in our lives. Which reminds me of the beautiful line from Good Will Hunting, when Sean Maguire, played by Robin Williams, tells Will Hunting, played by Matt Damon: 

You're not perfect sport, and let me save you the suspense: this girl you've met she's not perfect either. 

But the question is whether or not you're perfect for each other.

We're going to blow it now and then. The real questions are how to we respond to it and what do we do to repeat it from happening again. It's what it takes to be human. 

Photo courtesy of https://www.securitysales.com/columns/reasons-failure-lessons-learn/