Anyone who has spent some time in a corporate environment as a "cube rat" knows the drill. The film Office Space summarizes the experience most accurately, at least for me. You are often surrounded by people with this odd cadence in their voice that feels sort of robotic and Stepford. Lot's of 'experts' are hired to create 'efficiencies'. You have these 'consultants'..these molders of opinions or some creepy shiny HR rep who are there to provide some 'additional support'. Like they did in Troy.
I'm not trying to make fun of what is happening here. It's very serious. But I need to get your attention and sometimes humor is the easiest way to accomplish that. What you see, in Office Space, with the efficiency experts is a sort of a template for workplace social conditioning. Classic Problem/Reaction/Solution methodology. Technology, specifically Cybersecurity has created new opportunities for the criminal class. The vast majority of people have no clue what makes their networks function and the vultures surrounding the InfraGard program seem to be taking full advantage. Since Steem tends to attract a more technically adept audience, in addition to others, I'm hoping you'll see this and learn to grasp the bigger problem we are facing, as technical professionals, along with the 'layman' who truly needs help sorting through these issues.
Not everyone has a problem with 'taking advantage of suckers'. Some people think that's just evolution. There are a lot of 'suckers' waiting to be sold technology they don't need for Cybersecurity. Just like you get those bogus warnings that you have viruses from a web browser exploit trying to sell you Malware. There seems to be something similar happening, on a much larger scale, with the businesses attached to InfraGard. But the problem I have with this specific 'game' is what is lying underneath. That part is much more difficult to articulate appropriately in a public forum. This isn't as simple as some people being sold garbage Firewall and Security wares, it goes far far deeper into the criminal underworld.
The core issue from what I can see is that these businesses are using IG as a way to scare the membership and enroll them into bogus programs where they 'pretend' to teach them cybersecurity methods. In truth, the vast majority of these people are being led astray and fed garbage methods or ones the criminals already have workarounds for. I suspect this is being done to throw them off the scent of the larger problem. While enrolling these people (most of whom are just Patriots who lack deep technical knowledge), they scare the hell out of them and present them with what appears to be entirely fictional or exaggerated scenarios to 'chase after'. It's a pretty genius 'plan' because it effectively distracts real researchers and misdirects them towards destructive and negative outcomes.
This is a classic Divide and Conquer method. These Cybersecurity Professionals create lots of these clips to show IG members how scary the Cyber world is. They cover topics like "Workplace Violence" and encourage their membership to look for 'certain behaviors' and contact the FBI if they fit the bill. Truth is, any thoughtful person, who questions authority, no matter how peacefully, are considered 'suspects' if you follow InfraGard's guidance as it's expressed in these clips. The range of behaviors that members are taught to 'watch out for' are so normal and benign in nature, they effectively ensure anyone and everyone who has been unhappy at work can be a suspect. How convenient for those who want to sell you cybersecurity software and create a whole new economy of 'suspects' to chase after.
Please show the following clip to a REAL security professional who is trustworthy. Someone with a critical eye who doesn't just go along. Ask them if this, and most of the InfraGard Security Updates, make a bit of sense to any logical person involved in Cybersecurity. They will tell you, if they are honest, that this reeks of BULLSHIT.
InfraGard explains how they've turned Volunteerism into a Gamed Environment for their suckers...errr..volunteers.
How do they trick good patriotic people in doing these things? Like this...
Got news for you people. This is BULLSHIT. No one here is keeping you safer, IMO. Quite the contrary, they are advocating the interests of Wall Street and Big Pharma. The reason they want you to be scared is so they can sell you solutions while playing 'both sides' of the underworld, in my opinion. They spearheaded InfraGard to ensure they'd have a nationwide business to sell their 'solutions' to from my perspective (culled from over 20 years experience in Telecommunications that involved Internet Protocol Routing). But these solutions are distracting you from busting the REAL child traffickers, the REAL human traffickers, the REAL murderers....
You are being played. There are far cheaper solutions to these problems. There are better ways to address Cybersecurity and Law Enforcement. If you want to do the work you truly signed up for, you need to take a much much closer look at the relationships between InfraGard and private industry.
Look at this entire operation more critically. You aren't bad if you joined. Quite the opposite. Most of you are good people trying to do the right thing. I'm offering you an opportunity to do just that. Are you with me? You just need to wake up. We'll sort out the rest together once we don't have these 'flying monkeys' distracting us and making us chase one another.