Security pros share five of the toughest lessons they've ever learned, and they've got the scars to prove them
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AUGUST 9, 2007 | "The first cut is the deepest."
While we were never exactly sure what that old song lyric had to with trying to love again, it certainly comes to mind as IT security professionals discuss the one incident that taught them the most painful lesson of their careers.
It's not easy to get people to talk about their mistakes. "So how did it feel when you hit your thumb with the hammer? What do you wish you’d done differently?"

Fortunately, a handful of enterprise IT folk stepped forward to discuss their experiences in character building. Each did so in the spirit of sparing their peers similar scars and experiences.

In a couple instances, they requested anonymity, less out of pride than the potential legal exposure their war stories might create. What's interesting, though, is that technology and hackers and nefarious new malware weren't the typical instrument of these lessons. Human nature, politics, and carelessness were. Seasoned IT pros know that effective security sometimes means knowing something about people as well as technology.

Here are five lessons in IT security that helped these IT pros open their eyes and see their jobs differently. We hope they help you learn something, too -- in a less painful way... Much More

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