What do you get when you blend a few of my favorite things into one day? An outstanding experience!
On February 22, I was invited by BusinessWare Solutions to attend a day-long conference on cyber security and computer forensics at Prince’s Paisley Park. The first ever corporate event held at Paisley Park, the venue was spectacular and drew a large invitation-only crowd eager to tour the estate after learning about security risks, real-time cyber crimes, and top-notch solutions.
Paisley Park is a Unique Venue to Say the Least!
The day was so unique, it took me hours just to process what I had heard from engaging speakers while staring at a purple Bentley and a guitar in the shape of a symbol formerly known as Prince. We were not allowed to have access to phones/cameras or leave the room. We were 200+ of the most captivated audience in Minnesota that day, of that I’m certain! Mark Lanterman, Chief Technology Officer at Computer Forensic Services, gave real-time examples of the crime circuit on the Dark Web around the world, as well as what can happen when you don’t take computer/digital security seriously. Prior to moving to the private sector, Mark was “an investigator assigned to the U. S. Secret Service Electronic Crimes Taskforce. He has 28 years of security and forensic experience and has testified in over 2000 cases. He provides regular commentary on cyber security issues for national print and broadcast media, including NBC, ABC, Bloomberg, and The Wall Street Journal.” For me, the most startling revelation Mark shared was a recent security breach on SSL’s that weren’t thought possible and the speed at which the world’s most unscrupulous elements are working to gain access to private information.
Security Must be a Priority
When Ryan Poutre of WatchGuard and Mark Lanterman agreed that small businesses are a huge target because they are often the weakest links for hackers to gain access to more dark web sales-worthy information, a light bulb really went on for me. It isn’t about obtaining a credit card number that could fetch them a few hundred bucks. It’s about gaining access THROUGH the vulnerability of a lesser protected small business to those they work with, correspond with, etc to access much more valuable information and systems control worth thousands. I loved the video that Beth Zody of HP Inc shared that illustrated how dangerous printer security can be. Who thinks about printer security?
Thanks to the team at BusinessWare Solutions, these important topics were brought to light where business owners and IT professionals can network and collectively strategize solutions to keep their employees, organizations, and customers as safe as possible. With cyber attacks, spam, viruses, and malware in the news daily, I think people assume they are safe and all that bad “stuff” happens to “other people”.
Paisley Park Tour
As you might expect, almost everything inside Paisley Park is purple. From the paint on the walls in some rooms, to the clean-lined chaises in almost every room, purple is everywhere. The paisley pattern is frequently used. There are large screen televisions in his kitchen/dining area and various rooms throughout. Much of the interior is heavily influenced by the 1980’s era, but it is well-kept. Some parts of the home have clearly been updated, while certain rooms have been altered to function for the purpose of displaying memorabilia for upcoming tours coming through. Lighting effects and fog machines are in some rooms, while his music is audible almost everywhere.
We were only allowed to tour the main floor, as the upper level is not open to anyone other than close family. From the open floor concept of what Prince called the atrium, we could look up and see his pet doves in the cage on the second floor. Prince’s movie, album, and video mementos are prominent throughout the entire place, with countless of his outlandish costumes, guitars, pianos, etc on display. Also on exhibit (behind plexy-glass) are his Academy Awards, AMA’s, MTV VMA’s, Soul Train awards and more. There are many recording studios on the premises, featuring heavy wood, sound proofing, and recording equipment galore. I definitely got the feeling that prince was as creative as he was private. His unique style and creative oversight is prominent.
Thank you BusinessWare Solutions for a memorable day!
