DFIR: Communication
I awoke early today. It seems to be what I do these days. I wake up before everyone else, fire up the Keurig, and trudge up stairs to my ever awaiting and always on workstation. I’ll run through my current case work to ensure I am on track and haven’t let another report due date catch up with me. Today though…today is different. I need to communicate.
In the beginning…
2020 changed allot of things for allot of people. I don’t want to pontificate or muse upon all that was 2020 but one change that has taken time for me to fully quantify on a personal level is the distance between us. Us, You and I, my family, my friends, and the whole point of this blog, my co-workers.
I was lucky to have obtained a job just prior to the real start of the pandemic. The pandemic that brought so much distance between everyone. I was excited! It was rare for people to be able to work from home. Add on top of that, I was chasing a dream. From Threat Intelligence, to Security Operations, to Incident Response, and finally, Digital Forensics, I had arrived. I was excited.
I bought a new electric standup desk, three thirty-two inch monitors, a treadmill, and a full weightlifting rack. It was a whirlwind. A cash flow extravaganza to purchase everything I NEEDED to work from home.
To busy to notice
At first, I was too busy to notice the quiet. I was learning. I was absorbing. I wanted to be a DFIR wizard. I wanted to script. I wanted to find what no one has found before. I wanted to share….
Stop.
That is what woke me up today. I wanted to communicate. But why?
Feedback. Communication. Connection.
I am not sure when I really first felt disconnected. I remember one distinct moment after a client call and a co-worker randomly messaged me, “You killed it today”! I felt incredible. The best part was after that, we started chatting and talking more. We started building a relationship.
However, that was likely the onset of whatever malaise I am feeling these days about working from home. Please, don’t get me wrong. I love my job. I get to fight evil every day. I still hope to find the forensic artifact no one else has ever found. (Come on! Cobalt Strike give me something.) But, what I need to know is that, “I killed it today”! I’ll even gladly take, “You were off your game today”.
It’s just who I am. I don’t think its being needy. I don’t even think I am really talking about a need for feedback specifically. For me, its about building relationships, connections, trust, and comradery.
Reflection
When confronting situations like I am currently in, I often try to reflect to see if I have felt this way before and how did I overcome it.
In my prior life, and not long after taking a new role as Branch Manager with sixteen+, direct reports, I realized I was doing all I could to just tread water. I didn’t sleep much as my head was always full of worries and ideas. I felt alone. I could always call my then boss, he would provide guidance. Most of the time, I could hear him typing while I was talking. I was struggling. Then things changed. I got a new boss. Let’s call him, Mike.
Mike was even further away.
Mike
Mike inspired me. He always had little things he would say, that pushed me to do and be better. But most importantly, he communicated with me.
When he first called me, my internal alarm bells went off, “What is wrong? Has someone overpaid a total loss?” No. He was on his way into the office and was just checking in. Weird.
The next day, the same thing. He called, we talked shop. We also talked about his son playing little league and my daughter’s trials and tribulations of being a high school student.
The next day, again. This time we talked about home decorating, of all things.
The days and topics may be a little inaccurate but they were actual things at some point we talked about when he called. We might have spent 10–15 minutes a day, where he would call to check in. (And he had four managers to manage!)
Even with the distance, we bonded. We didn’t bond because we had like interests, were kindred spirits, or some long lost brothers. We bonded because of his efforts.
Full Circle
Times have changed. More and more people are working from home. To be dramatic, I would say more and more people are isolated, daily, for hours at a time, and work from home is becoming more like prison. So, maybe that is a bit over dramatic. It’s a tad lonely.
The solution isn’t elaborate. Although, you can Google, “working from home” and find numerous books published this year alone on the subject. I even bought one while writing this blog, “Remote Work Revolution, Succeeding from Anywhere”. I’ll let you know how it is. For me, the solution is communication.
For me communication, isn’t just ending a meeting with, does anyone have questions? Not just having a weekly, happy hour (although those are fun), to hang out and talk as a group. Nor is it a quarterly performance review. It’s about hitting that little phone icon, turning on the camera, and checking on people, checking on your co-workers. It’s about vesting time and energy in people. It’s about being like Mike.
So, if you don’t mind, I am going to stop here. I think I am going to call someone.