Schneier on Security

In the days of feudalism, serfs and minor lords pledged allegiance to the king and received protection in return. As long as the king held up his end of the bargain, the system worked. If he didn’t, the system would crumble, as it eventually did in Europe around the 15th century.

Bruce Schneier, CTO of BT Managed Security Solutions, sees the feudalism dynamic happening today on the Web, where users of social networking and other online services must blindly trust that the companies providing those services are paying enough attention to security. And given the power these firms wield, that is by no means a safe assumption…

Cybercriminals are not the greatest threat to Internet security. It’s the many forces trying to bend the world’s computer network to fit their interests.

That’s according to Bruce Schneier, a renowned security technologist and author of several books, including “Applied Cryptography.” Schneier told attendees Tuesday at the RSA Conference that the three greatest dangers are Big Data companies, poorly thought out government regulations, and the cyberwar arms race.

These threats foster instability through those lobbying for changes that further their self-interests, instead of what’s better universally, Schneier said. “The security community doesn’t have a lobby, common sense doesn’t have a lobby and technical excellence doesn’t have a lobby.”…

Excerpt

Schneier is the official rock star of the security industry with deep knowledge of crytopgraphy and privacy. He is the author of Applied Cryptography; Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World; and Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World. Schneier is also a frequent speaker at security events as well as the author of the BlowFish and TwoFish algorithms.