We Are Getting Dumber

by Rusty Shackleford  (dale@arlengunclub.com)

When I'm not in my basement waxing my turtles or at the gun club eating macaroons and sharing war stories, I spend a portion of my time as an educator at a well renowned university doing my part to help raise up the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.

And I have some serious concerns regarding this next generation of cybersecurity professionals.

No, I'm not going to start shaking my fist and yelling "get off my lawn" or tell you about how back in my day, I'd walk 30 miles uphill in the snow to school one-way.  But seriously, what has happened to the human desire to actually learn?  What has happened in this world that has caused so much complacency across the general population?

Rest assured, reader of this article, that you are probably not who I am referring to.  By subscribing, or buying, or borrowing a copy of 2600 and taking an initiative to read the articles, you've already demonstrated far more desire to learn than the vast majority of your peers.

I remember when being a hacker meant submerging yourself in learning how things worked.  Having an insatiable curiosity for the world around you.  Taking things apart to peer inside.  Deconstructing the widget to reveal its secrets.

Ah, but it is a different world now.  Google/Yandex at your fingertips, LLMs to answer every question you could possibly have at a moment's notice, and no real need to learn anything.  Why even commit anything to memory?  Why even think of a reply to that email from your boss, when you can simply copy/paste it into your favorite AI model and have it spit out the perfect response, guaranteed to make you look good?

As an educator with over 30 years hands-on experience in the industry, it is absolutely disgusting to see so many students that come into bachelor and masters cybersecurity programs that haven't the slightest desire to learn the most basic concepts.  Notice I said desire.  I would love more students who know nothing but actually want to learn.

Unfortunately, those are few and far between.  Instead, I get students that simply want ChatGPT to write their essays, and do the absolute bare minimum to get that piece of paper so they can go land that sexy pen-tester job they saw on TV.  Never mind any certifications, or even knowing what they are doing.  I guess they believe that once they land the job, they can get ChatGPT to do the job for them too.  And maybe they can - maybe that's the direction the world is headed.  And maybe it is too far along that path to course correct.  I don't know.  But for me, personally, I still get a sense of satisfaction learning how things work, and making them work in unexpected ways.  I hope you do too.

For those of us in networking who actually understand the difference between SSH and Telnet, and know whether time to live is measured in minutes or seconds, keep in mind that the vast majority of your "less seasoned" peers simply don't know these things.  The depth of knowledge needed to get the job today is merely a puddle.  After all, there is a surplus of jobs available and not enough workers to fill them.  The "unmotivated, undesired, self-entitled, etc." are bound to sneak in more and more.

While it may seem this way, I'm not advocating against AI.  It is a very powerful tool that can be used in creative ways to improve our success and the world around us.  I just want to see more people capable of using their brain as the first and primary tool before relying on AI, Google, or any other "shortcut."  If you've taken the time to learn something interesting, please share.  If you've broken something and it turned out better as a result, even better.

Help keep hackers alive.

And finally, please don't email me about TTL - I'll send Mad Dog after you.