The Analogies Project’s Four Year Anniversary

To celebrate the 4th anniversary of The Analogies Project, we’ve rounded up the top ten most popular analogies ever posted by the project.

You’d think that, after four years of contributions, we’d be running out of topics. But when you’re working with a discipline as multifaceted as Information Security, there’s always a new angle. Here’s some of the highlights from the last four years:

Internal Threats:

Sometimes the worst threats originate within your own organization. Three of our top ten analogies talked about the importance of protecting against insider malice, and its cohort, stupidity.

• ‘Jurassic Park – Based on a True Story’ by Vicky Clayton
• ‘The Story of the Suicidal Kangaroo’ Original story by Robert Hadfield, penned by Andy Jones
• ‘God Save Me From My Friends. I Can Protect Myself From My Enemies’ by Yotam Gutman

Risk Assessment & Policy:

A CISO loves a good plan. Three of our top ten analogies were full of advice on creating realistic, trustworthy policy.

• ‘3 Little Pigs: A Modern Perspective’ by David Rimmer
• ‘People Hacking & Playtime’ by Sarah Clarke
• ‘Cleavage and Clouds’ by Sarah Clarke

Information Networks:

Without good information, one can’t make good decisions. Two of our most popular analogies, written by Bruce Hallas and Eduardo Gelbstein, explained the consequences of trying to solve a problem without all the details, while Jonathan and Juliet Armstrong wrote about properly vetting the parties entrusted with your communication.

• ‘Romeo & Juliet’ by Bruce Hallas
• ‘What the Elizabethans Teach us About Cyber Security’ by Jonathan & Juliet Armstrong
• ‘The Elephant and Six Blind Men’ by Eduardo Gelbstein

Finally, using a castle as the cornerstone of her analogy, this chart topper touches on many facets of fortified information security.

• ‘Castles’ by Anne Wood

The Top 10 List in order of views

1) ‘The Elephant and the Six Blind Men: What Does Information Security Mean to You?’ by Eduardo Gelbstein

2) ‘Jurassic Park – Based on a True Story’ by Vicky Clayton

3) ‘Jonathan & Juliet Armstrong ‘What the Elizabethans Teach us About Cyber Security’ by Jonathan & Juliet Armstrong

4) ‘Cleavage and Clouds’ by Sarah Clarke

5) ‘Romeo & Juliet’ by Bruce Hallas

6) ‘God Save Me From My Friends. I Can Protect Myself From My Enemies’ by Yotam Gutman

7) ‘The Story of the Suicidal Kangaroo’ Original story by Robert Hadfield, penned by Andy Jones

8) ‘3 Little Pigs: A Modern Perspective’ by David Rimmer

9) ‘People Hacking & Playtime’ by Sarah Clarke

10) ‘Castles’ by Anne Wood