The Two-Pronged Security Breach

the link to the audio version: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hHg7BvMBPs&t=9s

There is a little known, but highly vicious viral attack going around, and in two-thousand and three, my personal life was hacked by this Ataxia Worm. The beauty of this kind of attack (I know, I know...using the word beauty to describe any facet of Ataxia is difficult at best...and as I write this I have a little bile rising in my throat) is that it is able to do its destruction right out in plain sight! It doesn’t have to hide and slink it's way around in the shadows...but, Ataxia gets away with worming itself into seemingly secure systems because no one has yet figured out how to stop it.

How is it getting in, you ask? Is there a backdoor that allows Ataxia to infect a host? No, the problem one hundred percent of the time is that the attack comes in the form of a neurological phishing scheme. This is just the beginning of the problem, though. A technician (Neurologist) has to figure out how the worm gained access in the first place. Secondly, they have to try and figure out which part of the system was vulnerable and responded once the worm was in. As soon as it gets accepted into the system, it expands itself throughout...and begins to cause havoc. Not long after the Ataxia worm has been identified, the infected system will start to lag and perform sluggishly.

This system-wide infection is only the first stage of the attack, though. Ataxia, it would seem, is not content with just scrambling the inner workings of the host...oh, no! I said it was a two-pronged attack because Ataxia also goes after your identity...trying to tarnish your good name, reputation and trash your well-established credit. Ataxia is a viral worm AND an identity thief....and since Ataxia uses a two-pronged mode of attack, I will be from this point forward referring to the viral bug of Ataxia as the scourge.  

There are, unfortunately, numerous ways in which the scourge manifests itself once it gets past the Cerebellum Firewall, and it takes on many different forms. Although, as of this date there exists no way in which my infected system can be completely cleansed of every trace of the scourge, luckily, there are steps that I can take to help ensure and maintain a positive outlook and to help things run a little smoother.

#1. A Sense Of Humor….I find to be an invaluable first line of defense. Laughter is something that I can control...not Ataxia, but me. My attitude is that I will keep poking fun at the scourge, and when he has had enough, he knows where the door is. I’m hoping that he will get fed up and leave. This wouldn’t hurt my feelings.

#2. A Proper And Realistic Understanding Of Who I Am….in a lot of ways, I am the same person that I was before the scourge found me. Sure, I’m older, wiser, and just a wee bit more mature….but my basic personality is the same. I still have the same emotions….I still like the same foods, have the same desires, have the same capacities to show love, compassion, and to extend friendship. The bottom-left here is that the scourge will change all of us physically, but it also will go after and try to change us at the very core of who we are. It didn’t need my permission to infect me physically….but in every other area, it does need my consent. Sorry...but I’m not giving it.

#3 Actively Giving And Seeking Support….I believe that we were not created to isolate ourselves but to share ourselves with others...and dealing with the scourge certainly falls within this belief. I didn’t move in any significant way towards a positive life lived in the midst of Ataxia until I sought out other people whose struggles were like mine. There is a strength that comes from sharing our frustrations and victories with others, and hearing theirs. We can learn about ourselves, and see truths about dealing with our personal Ataxia that we may have never seen before….and probably wouldn’t have come to on our own. I embrace the support as being a necessary part of who I am.

#4 Being Honest With Myself And Others About Every Part Of Me….One of the lessons that I learned along time ago is that denying the existence of my Ataxia was not helpful. Doing so was not reducing the problem, but only magnifying it. I discovered that I needed to give myself permission to be me….in the area of the scourge. This may sound obvious to some people…..because really, who else was I going to be? But, if you are dealing with the scourge like I am...or any other personal thorn that’s wormed its way into your system….then hopefully, you’ve come to understand like I have that we don’t get to pick and choose what baggage in life that we have to drag around with us. These things want to weigh us down and hopefully, stop us from making any more forward progress. I found that the best way to combat the scourge that introduced itself into my life was to deny it the power to stop me or shape my outlook on life. (By the way, a thought just occurred to me that if the scourge is really baggage….then I am going to check it the next time I fly anywhere...and then hope that for once the airline loses my luggage)!

Anyway, those few examples are some of the ways, that for me, work to help keep the scourge at bay. I would really like to hear from others about those things that you find helpful….so please leave a comment