I recently watched a good example of this at a meeting in Washington of government officials and business leaders. These immigrants are also the ones whose ignorance is most often taken advantage of by get-rich-quick schemes and other bad policy advice. Unlike younger digital natives to whom computers are a natural feature, these leaders often feel like strangers in a new land, unable to speak the language, and thus more likely to keep silent for fear of embarrassment or misunderstanding. A major part of the problem is a simple lack of familiarity with the most basic terms and definitions.Īlmost all policymakers today are digital immigrants - people who grew up in a world where computers were rarely used, but who now live in a world where they are ubiquitous.
There is perhaps no contemporary security policy issue that is as important, but so poorly understood, as cybersecurity.
