The Best Defense

What does troubled web search titan Yahoo! have in common with Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert? Trick question: Yahoo! and Rudy Gobert are sort of the opposite of each other. Permit us to explain:  Yahoo! users — the ones who pay attention to current events, at any rate — were rocked in September by the company's disclosure that, two years previously, hackers had broken through its security perimeter and made off with personal data connected to 500 million user accounts.

Now here's the truly stunning news: Last week it came to light that Yahoo!'s big September revelation was almost small potatoes. That's because the company further admitted that, nearly a year prior to the previously announced attack, a separate breach had been perpetrated that resulted in the loss of personal data from 1 billion user accounts. Yup, that's "billion" with a B. In essence, if you've used a Yahoo! account for anything — e-mail, photo storage, fantasy sports — in the last three or four years, then there's an excellent chance that at least some of your identifying information (passwords, birthdates, etc.) is in the hands of someone with nefarious intentions.

Here's where we get to Rudy Gobert. The 24-year-old Frenchman, who just signed a $100 million contract extension, has been wreaking terror on Jazz opponents this NBA season in general, and over the past month of games in particular. When the Jazz are on defense, the nimble and lanky Gobert essentially swallows up the entire area immediately around the basket, swatting shots, deflecting drives, and generally forcing opponents to retreat and settle for jump shots. When the Jazz are on offensive, Gobert has become a pick-and-roll terror, screening defenders and diving to the basket for easy dunks or layups.

Essentially, Rudy Gobert is doing everything for his teammates that Yahoo! has managed, in spectacular fashion, NOT to do for you and everyone else with any sort of Yahoo! user account. The best defense in the NBA (literally; the Jazz are currently leading the league in points allowed) is the Flying Frenchman, the Stifle Tower, the Gob-zilla. The best defense on the internet is, well, clearly not Yahoo!

You, on the other hand, could start down the path to becoming the Rudy Gobert of the internet by getting your Security+ credential from CompTIA. Security+ is a baseline qualification for may cybersecurity jobs, including from the U.S. Department of Defense. It's a great foundation for a long and prosperous career of rejecting hack attacks and patrolling the perimeter defenses of private and public networks. Security salaries are booming: You may not get Rudy Gobert money for defending networks and websites, but you can still make a pretty penny.

Not only that, but the best training available for Security+ is right here at TestOut Continuing Education. You don't even have to lift weights, or run sprints, or generally treat your body like a precision instrument. Leave that to Rudy Gobert. All you need is a subscription to TestOut CE's top-flight courseware and you'll be off and running*.

* Metaphorically speaking. Leave the actual running to Rudy Gobert.