Everyone Deserves a Laureen

Earlier this week, CybersecuriTea hit a milestone: one year old.

Along the way, we've talked about your digital footprint and why it's worth cleaning up. We showed you how to help your parents dodge text scams and how to build passwords that don't rely on your pet's name. We've tried to educate without talking down, without tech jargon, and without scaring you — because we talk a lot around here about FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), and we refuse to traffic in it. Everyone should be able to understand cybersecurity. You don't need a degree. Just a willingness to dig in.

You might have noticed a different name in the byline this week. I'm the other half of CybersecuriTea.

My background isn't cybersecurity — it's TV and film: production, post-production, visual effects. My thing is communicating ideas. I'm mostly the one behind the scenes: the words are all Laureen, but the visuals and the website are me. She tracks every development in the security landscape; I make sure we have somewhere to put it. I'm the gadget nerd. The one with the 3D printer. The one downloading the new apps before anyone asks me to.

I wasn't the cybersecurity expert. But here's the thing — I didn't have to be.

Over the years, just working alongside Laureen and being her friend, I absorbed more than I realized. We'd talk; I'd look up the terms I didn't know. She'd send links; I'd read them. She'd explain something in the news and it would actually stick. And at some point we both looked around and thought: more people need a Laureen.

So a little over a year ago, we launched this newsletter. So everyone could have one.

And now here we are, starting year two. We're going to keep doing what we do — educating with a healthy side of sarcasm. But we're also ready to grow a little, and we want your input before we do.

We're thinking about expanding what CybersecuriTea offers beyond the newsletter. But instead of guessing what would actually be useful to you, we figured we'd just ask.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for digging in. Year one was just the warmup.

CybersecuriTea is a free, plain-English guide to digital safety, designed for families, friends, and the folks you love. Subscribe today and get weekly tips to help keep your digital life secure.

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