Last updated at Wed, 03 Jan 2024 18:20:07 GMT

Update December 17, 2021: Due to the ongoing situation with the Log4Shell vulnerability in Log4j, we've decided to postpone our Hacky Holidays content series to January to give our full attention to helping you navigate this threat. We hope you'll still be in the mood for some holiday cheer in the new year. In the meantime, check out our Log4Shell resource center for content to help you address this wide-ranging vulnerability.

The holiday season often inspires reflection on the year coming to a close — but with the new year approaching, this season can also signal the opportunity for a fresh start.

In that spirit, we're announcing a refreshed theme and approach to our annual holiday blog series: Hacky Holidays!

While we'll always treasure the years of HaXmas, we wanted to do something more inclusive this year, so infosec practitioners from all walks of life can take part, regardless of what year-end observances you might keep. The change also gives us an opportunity to expand our publishing dates outside the traditional 12 Days of Christmas, so we can supply you with festively themed security content all season long — we'll be running Hacky Holidays here on the Rapid7 blog throughout the whole month of December.

Our greatest holiday hits

Before we tell you more about the exciting content we have planned for the inaugural edition of Hacky Holidays, let's pay a little homage to HaXmas and take a look at some of our holiday highlights from years past.

  • We gave you some tips for how to fill the role of sysadmin for your non-security-minded family (without going totally crazy).
  • We told the tale of Kevin the Elf, admin for Santa's master list, who receives a suspicious email claiming to come from the Claus himself.
  • We outlined the 12 pains of infosec that security pros know all too well.
  • We celebrated some of our most inspiring guests from the 2020 lineup of our podcast, Security Nation, who made a tough year a little brighter.
  • We stretched our skills from cybersecurity to songcraft with our holiday carol collection, NOW That's What I Call HaXmas.

What's waiting under the tree this year

Now that we've got you in the spirit of cybersecurity cheer, here's a look ahead at what we have planned for the inaugural Hacky Holidays.

  • Our team's predictions for what 2022 might hold for security pros
  • A deep dive into some of the inspiring ways security pros are giving back to the community
  • An brief tutorial on membership inference for neural networks from our resident AI expert, Erick Galinkin
  • A wrap-up of all things Metasploit from 2021
  • And much more!

Check back with us throughout the month so you don't miss out on the Hacky Holiday cheer!

NEVER MISS A BLOG

Get the latest stories, expertise, and news about security today.