Symbolic security

An article bemoaning the lack of an iconic image for the field of “risk management” (e.g. the insurance industry) applies to information risk and security as well. We don’t really have one either. 

Well maybe we do: there are padlocks, chains and keys, hackers in hoodies and those Anonymous facemasks a-plenty (a minute's image-Googling easily demonstrates that). Trouble is that the common images tend to emphasize threats and controls, constraints and costs. All very negative. A big downer.

Information risk and security may never be soft and cuddly ... but I'm sure we can do more to distance ourselves from the usual negative imagery and perceptions. I really like the idea of information security being an enabler, allowing the organization do stuff (business!) that would otherwise be too risky. So I'll be spending idle moments at the weekend thinking how to sum that concept up in an iconic image. Preferably something pink and fluffy, with no threatening overtones.