Psalm 119:155 – Far from Rescue

Far are the wicked from rescue,
for they do not seek your statutes.

I have translated a key word in the passage “rescue” though it can be translated “salvation.” I’m reading the verse as speaking about rescuing someone from trouble or a bad situation.

This passage reminded me almost immediately of working in computer security. Some of my clients may think I’m talking about them, but what I’m about to say comes from dozens of experiences.

I find myself on the phone with someone who is actually in contact with a scammer. Sometimes this is via text to me, and sometimes it’s using a different phone. I’m telling the person to hang up on the scammer and don’t follow any more of their instructions.

“But they sound so professional and knowledgeable …”

“But they told me my computer is compromised …”

“But they say that if I hang up my data will be destroyed …”

“But they say they’re providing me with a secure connection …”

“But they knew the name of my bank …”

There are all sorts of reasons to consider talking to the scammer. All of these reasons are overcome by one simple rule: Don’t ever give any information to, or take any instructions from anyone you can’t identify with certainty. Another version says, for example, don’t give any information over the phone unless you called your bank using their established number, not one you got on your answering machine.

Statutes. Rules. Things that will help keep you safe.

In these conversations I will be saying, “Hang up. Shut down your computer. I’ll come look at it.”

Statues.

Then there’s the situation where someone has paid me for coverage of their computer needs for a period of time. There’s no added expense to picking up the phone and asking me about something. “Is this email safe?”

And sometimes someone doesn’t check, doesn’t call. The only expense is a few moments of time, yet they open the door to a scammer.

They don’t even seek the statutes. They seek the convenience.

And they get inconvenience, or worse.

Life is very much like that. Sometimes we are too busy going in whatever direction feels right to us at the moment. We don’t have time to give consideration to whether that direction is right, or whether we’ll actually accomplish our goals.

There’s another thing I tell people about computer security: I can’t save you from yourself. That applies to these conversations with scammers, but it also applies to ordinary computer usage. If the person insists on installing questionable software, or visiting unsafe websites even after getting a warning from security software, or ignores signs that something may have gone wrong, rescue is far off.

I recall two different customers who got attacked by ransomware. In one case, the early signs were ignored. I caught it because I was working on another issue. The computer user had been too busy and simply kept working. They were only able to because their main management system used file types that the ransomware didn’t encrypt. It took 12 hours to clean up. Fortunately, I had seen to it they had current backups kept isolated from any such attack.

Another customer was attacked by ransomware and on the first sign of an issue, they shut down the computers and called me. Within an hour (counting my travel time) they were using their computers again, and within two hours I was able to clear everything for use.

They followed the statutes.

How often are we praying to God for rescue while we’re diligently avoiding the rescue? God’s grace is sufficient, but sometimes the path isn’t much fun!

How can you cooperate with your rescuer today?

(Featured image generated by Jetpack AI, and it did an exceptional job this time, I think!)