Opinion: Your cat could teach you a thing or two about cybersecurity

Everything the author tried to confine the cat worked for a little while but eventually failed as he found a way past the newest security barrier – just as hackers eventually find their way through the cybersecurity barriers erected to stop them. — Photo by Catherine Heath on Unsplash

The news today often contains reports about cybersecurity breaches that steal our data or threaten our national security. The US spends billions of dollars on cybersecurity measures, and yet we seem unable to get ahead of this problem. Why are our computers so hard to protect?

Recent experience with a house cat provided insights into the nature of this problem. I am allergic to cats. My daughter came home, cat in hand, for an extended stay, and I had to find a way of confining Pounce to a limited area.