My wife and I had made plans to get away for a few days—a little escape from the usual chaos. We even booked a resort that offered a spa pass. Now, I’m not much of a spa guy, but somehow, I got roped into that part of the deal. I could say more about it, but for the sake of my dignity, I won’t.
The plan was simple: I had a mediation in the morning, and
then we’d hit the road. Bags were packed, the car was ready, and my wife was
looking forward to a few days of relaxation. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, as most people know, the best-laid plans are really just an
invitation for disaster.
When I walked out of my mediation, the office staff
approached me with a look I can only describe as concerning. Had I, they
wondered, meant to send everyone an email in the middle of the mediation?
Unless I had suddenly developed the ability to mediate and type at the same
time, the answer was a hard no. That’s when it hit me—I had been hacked. Or at
least, my computer had.
In a flash I knew what had happened. The day before had been
busy with lots of tasks that needed completing. Late afternoon I received an
email that looked legitimate from a trusted contact. To save myself some embarrassment
I will just say the rest is history.
Suddenly, the relaxing getaway took a backseat to digital
disaster control. I rushed home to find my wife, bags in hand, ready to hit the
road. Unfortunately, we weren’t going anywhere until I sorted out the cyber
mess. Thankfully, I had an IT guy who answered my distress call.
Now, let me tell you, watching someone untangle a hacked
computer is about as enjoyable as watching paint dry. It took an excruciating
hour and a half to wrestle control back from the faceless hacker who had so
rudely hijacked my email. It’s terrifying how easily these cyber bandits can
infiltrate your system and create havoc. By the time my IT guy declared victory,
I felt like I’d just run a marathon in the middle of a heatwave.
With the crisis (mostly) averted, we finally hit the road.
My wife drove while I tackled my next task: sending an apology email to
everyone who had received the nefarious message from my compromised account. I
stopped counting at 125. Nothing says “relaxing vacation” like issuing a mass
warning about cyber fraud from the passenger seat.
Technology and I have always had a complicated relationship.
Any IT issue sends my stress levels skyrocketing. On one hand, I’d love to
throw my computer, my phone, and every other device through the nearest window.
On the other hand, I have to admit, these gadgets do make life easier—when they
work. Quite the paradox.
At the time, it felt like a disaster. But looking back, I
realize these stressors always seem like the end of the world in the moment.
The key is to take a deep breath, tackle the problem as soon as you can, and
move on. More often than not, the stress fades quicker than expected, and
there’s always a lesson to be learned. In this case, I learned, again, that stress
can cause distractions which can cause issues. Oh, and maybe be careful on
which emails I open even if they seem to be from a trusted contact. In the end,
the stress of being hacked faded faster than I expected. The getaway turned out
to be just what I needed—though I still have mixed feelings about the spa.