GoKawiil"Security, like everything else that's human, is a work in progress."
That line from the late Tim Wilson's 2013 column for Dark Reading's seventh anniversary still rings true today. Tim pointed out that cyber defense and breaches involve people — defenders and victims — and "while attacks and technology change, the nature of security itself doesn't," he wrote. The human element in security means it's always evolving. Such is the cybersecurity world in 2026, too.
Tim, Dark Reading's co-founder and former editor-in-chief, had a gift for penning profound insights about industry trends. That column was just one example of how, for Tim, it was always about the people: those he worked with, those who read his work, and most importantly, his family and friends.
It has been nearly five years since Tim passed away after a brief battle with cancer. Much has changed at Dark Reading since his death in late November of 2021. The site has grown dramatically, and the team has nearly doubled in size. Only two of the eight of us worked with Tim at Dark Reading. Most of our current teammates never met or even knew of Tim before they came on board, and it is not lost on me that many of our newest readers probably don't know his byline or work.
Related:Looking Back, Looking Forward: Digesting a Dynamic Bouillabaisse of Cyber Evolution
So, as we celebrate Dark Reading's 20th anniversary this month, we also honor and remember Tim's legacy and lasting influence on this media brand, as well as on the industry writ large.
Dark Reading's Tim Wilson: A Cyber Media Entrepreneur
From the get-go in May of 2006, Tim set the standard for security journalism with smart, insightful reporting wrapped in his inimitably engaging writing style. His pieces were always a great read, thanks to his skilled writing and depth of security knowledge, and the occasional bit of humor he slipped into a headline or body of a story (where appropriate, of course).
As Dark Reading grew, Tim's role did, too. He served as the face of Dark Reading to the industry for most of his 15 years at the helm, creating content for various industry conferences, educating stakeholders on the Dark Reading business side, and always facilitating communication and conversation, formally or informally, in the burgeoning security community.
Tim was passionate about Dark Reading and making sure that it consistently served industry leaders and professionals. His dream was to establish a security conference for security pros by security pros, where they could share their experiences and learn from one another, focusing on the most relevant threats rather than the latest security vulnerability or research finding. That vision culminated with his creation of the INsecurity conference in 2017, a groundbreaking Dark Reading event that brought together chief information security officers (CISOs) and other major enterprise security leaders in Chatham House Rule forums and roundtable discussions. They shared their experiences, learned from one another, and as Tim had hoped, considered fresh, more effective defense strategies, all in a safe space free of vendor influence.
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