Schneier on Security

"I have a little list,
of security people who would not be missed..."

Sorry. Too much Mikado for dinner last night.

1. Who are those four dorks they put ahead of you?

2. Why 59?

Why not 59? If there had been 58 you'd have been asking the same question.

And here I thought it would be "no-fly".

@Ian: Because numbers devisible by 10 are just so much *better*. Or at least, numbers devisible by the next lowest magnitude power of 10. And in the case of even powers of 10 greater than or equal to 100, it's acceptable to add 1. (e.g., 101 of the greatest yada yada.)

I don't know why, it's just the truth. Accept it.

@Mike Schiraldi: you should recognise Ed Felten, at least...

@Mike,

Other than Richard Stiennon, it seems roughly aphabetical by first name. My cynical guess that the others advertise with IT.com and Bruce was added for credibility.

"2. Why 59?"

Yeah, they could have just said: "Prime Top Influencers in IT Security"

I kill myself...

Is there a "Top 73 Lists That List Bruce Schneier As One Of The Most Influential Persons Or Studliest Geeks In Some Field Or Another" list?

@Joe

Make no mistake, none of these people are allowed to fly in/out of the US because of import/export laws and the munitions grade crypto in their heads.

@Anonymous: Of course i would recognize Ed Felten. But he's not one of the four people i referred to in my comment.

59. Think Praseodymium.

Don't let it go to your head!

@ Joe Patterson: "Because numbers devisible by 10 are just so much *better*"

59/10 = 5.9 <-- Look, 59 is divisible by 10.

Because "59 of the best" sounds clever and offbeat to people who care about such lists.

Congrats Bruce! I finally hope you'll start participating in Gillette's business model by considering their shaving propositions for your upcoming awards and top IT lists.

Get a shave and a decent haircut man ONLY in case you actually meet people in real life.

Welcome to the top 59 most important security people list, Bruce. You're in good company with me and my sidekick, Alan. We run Stillsecure and create network security products. I have a long history in banking and telco but now I'm a security expert, trying to increase the overall security of all computer users. I just wanted to say hello and welcome.

Serious bummer for me - I am pretty sure I had a good chance at number 60.

Top two INFOSEC influencers in the world today:
1. Sh@ft
2. Bruce Schneier

For booking and speaking information please contact Sh@ft or send checks payable to "cash" PO box 11111 NY NY

Honestly these lists annoy the hell out of me. There's usually a couple good names, and the rest is just BS like the guy above - I'm sorry "who are you?". I would love to know because after 15 years in infosec w/ military, fortune 50 companies, among others I have never heard of you or your company. After googling it looks like you have a blog and post to some securityfocus threads. Not sure how that qualifies as being so influencial.. but if its on the internet it must be true. /sarcasm

But Sh@ft, what are you suggesting?

That I wasn't in line for number 60?