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| "Tree stump at Armadale Castle" by Mike Peel, used under license CC BY-SA 4.0 |
While this may sound like the setup to a joke, I assure you my story is true and accurate :-)
A number of years ago, my brother attended Texas A&M University. He had a bicycle he used to commute around campus, a bicycle that he was rather attached to. At times he did not want to carry it up the stairs to his apartment, so in order to protect it from theft, he chained it up. He located the biggest, gnarliest tree he could find near his apartment, and frequently chained the bike to that tree.
One morning he walked outside to go for a ride. He walked to where his bike had been safely chained, and found a stump. While he napped, the University had cut down and removed the tree, leaving only a stump!
Fortunately they had left his bike - chain, lock and all - leaning against a sign post, where he found it moments later.
I could make a point about myopic security viewpoints, focusing on one risk and overlooking equally great risks.
I could make a point about supply chain risk, in which the products we choose introduce risks outside our control.
I could make a point about recognizing which risks our controls mitigate - and which risks they don't.
Instead, though, I'll leave the reader to ponder this humorous story and come up with your own moral!