Thread by @vmyths

Let's talk cybersecurity #jokes while we still can.

You probably don't take on a company like @McAfee or a person like @CybersecuritySF like *I* do. But most of you DO enjoy a joke that uses #sarcasm, #burlesque, #irony, and/or #satire to make its point…
thehill.com/opinion/judici…

…and that's something I've done in our industry for three decades. PC Magazine columnist @THErealDVORAK labeled me "a comic provocateur" for using the comedian's tools of the trade. My "#antivirus industry persona" predates The Colbert Report. I was…

https://twitter.com/vmyths/status/1362338554052018179

…blogging about the #antivirus industry before Google's formation. My 120+ "audio rants" predate YouTube. My website visitors routinely crippled what you know as Mae West. I got snapped up at *the* apex of the Internet bubble and I laughed all the…

https://twitter.com/mikko/status/804284210890452992

…way to the bank. I gave comedic lectures at any number of U.S. gov't conferences where the legendary @raysemko appeared, and participant surveys often delivered me the conference "best technical speaker" nod.

But there's one DARK speaking event that sticks out for me…

…at a DTIC conference where a woman stormed out & railed at mgmt over my "forehead staple" joke (you had to be there).

Mgmt could've easily taken her side; they took mine as the joke crossed no lines. I mean, it's not like I talked about punching nazis…

https://twitter.com/imaguid/status/1596677745106616321

It was #comedy that made MY speeches work. I mocked hysterical knee-jerk gov't reactions with all the tools at my disposal.

Tools no one besides @raysemko could use as effectively. (Ray, I'll never forget you twirling your pony tail bragging "because I can!") 🤣

Too many of…

…our community members have railed over the years that "cybersecurity is too important a topic to be mocked."

To them, I quote the warrior-poet River Song who ingeniously replied "Hush! Mommy and Daddy are busy!"

I'm glad that people like @nicoleperlroth and @thegrugq haven't blocked me for mocking them (and one hopes they realize how very much they need it).

Others have blocked me, e.g. @mattblaze, as comedy *forces* them to look in the mirror in a way they…

https://twitter.com/mattblaze/status/1561490120125063168

…could easily ignore with any other stale, dry, humorless critique.

Comedy isn't just an effective weapon against the #hysteria in our business -- it's the ONLY effective weapon against hysteria in our business. Nothing else works as well.

https://twitter.com/vmyths/status/1391755906967343111

"Rob, you're babbling again." What, and you think @thegrugq doesn't?!?

My point is that #cybersecurity companies HATE being mocked. If the U.S. courts go down the wrong path, folks like @J4vv4D will get sued for making #parody videos like I used to make:

Oh wait, I still do make parody videos of the cybersecurity industry. But NOT for long, if the courts give @DKMatai and @jonathandata0 a powerful new legal tool.

Well that's my tweet folks, you've been great! Tip your wait staff.
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