News in the Category "Articles"
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Can Morality Improve Security?
This year, more than $22 billion in enterprise security products and services is expected to be sold worldwide. But according to Bruce Schneier, well-known cryptology expert and security luminary, technology alone isn’t the answer to better security.
In an in-depth interview with eSecurity Planet at the Black Hat 2012 conference in Las Vegas last week, Schneier argued that looking at security solely from a technology perspective is to take a too narrow view of the problem.
“If you look at broader society, there is a lot of security that happens at a much more personal level,” Schneier said…
The Tribal Mind: Moral Reasoning and Public Discourse
Excerpt
[In The Righteous Mind, Jonathan] Haidt writes:
Moral systems are interlocking sets of values, virtues, norms, practices, identities, institutions, technologies, and evolved psychological mechanisms that work together to suppress or regulate self-interest and make cooperative societies possible.
It is interesting to compare this perspective with what one finds in Liars and Outliers, a recent book by Bruce Schneier on the social problem of trust and security. Schneier, a security consultant, views our lives from the perspective of game theory. Every day, we must decide whether to cooperate or to defect. Do I try to arrive at work on time, or do I show up late? Do I drive safely or aggressively? Do I support the goals of my department, or do I work for myself? Does my department support the goals of the larger organization, or does it pursue its own interests? Does the larger organization work to support the goals of the society to which it belongs, or does it pursue its own goals?…
RSA 2012: Are Software Liability Laws Needed?
Software liability laws are needed to hold software companies accountable for making faulty products, argued Bruce Schneier, chief technology security officer with BT during a pro-con debate held Wednesday at the RSA Conference.
Schneier said that liability laws would transfer the economic cost for faulty software from the user to the developer and provide an incentive for the developer to fix the problem.
He compared the situation of the software market to the early days of the automobile industry when Congress passed laws that held auto manufacturers responsible for faulty vehicles that caused accidents. This prompted the auto industry to begin fixing the problems, such as stop using wooden wheels that would fall apart at high speeds…
RSA 2012: Schneier on Why Anonymous Is Not a Group and Why They're Certainly Not As Good As You Think They Are
At the RSA Conference 2012 in San Francisco, February 29, Bruce Schneier and Davi Ottenheimer discuss Schneier’s latest book and how to enable the trust that society needs to thrive.
Following on from Schneier’s talk yesterday on the three biggest risks to information security in 2012, this discussion focussed purely on the topic of Schneier’s latest book, Liars and Outliers.
Here are some of the session highlights:
- Security depends on people. “I started in cryptography because I didn’t like people. I wanted to study numbers. Anyone in security needs to understand that people act in unpredictable ways.”…
Government, Business, Military are Internet Security Threats
RSA 2012 Usually the bête noire of the annual RSA conference is the criminal hacking community, but security guru Bruce Schneier asserts that government, business, and the military may well pose a bigger threat to security professionals.
“The current risks to internet freedom, openness, and innovation don’t come from the bad guys—they are political and technical. I suppose I should call this talk ‘Layer eight and nine threats’,” he told his audience on Tuesday at RSA 2012.
Attempts at ill-conceived legislation are a major concern, he said. Outsiders trying to legislate something they have no understanding of (a “…
RSA 2012: Three Greatest (And Suprising) Internet Security Dangers
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.”…
RSA 2012: Schneier Reveals Three Biggest Information Security Risks in 2012
In his session at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, February 28th 2012, Bruce Schneier listed what he perceives to be the three biggest risks to information security right now: The rise of big data; ill-conceived law enforcement regulations; and the cyberwar arms race.
The rise of big data
The rise of big data, Schneier declared, is inevitable due to the cost of saving data being so cheap. “It’s easy and cheaper to search than sort,” he said. “The collection of data is being aggravated – mainly so the companies doing it can make more money… Companies like Apple, Amazon and Google are all competing to be the company that monetises your data.”…
Schneier: Government, Big Data Pose Bigger 'Net Threat than Criminals
As Bruce Schneier spent the past decade watching the growing rash of phishers, malware attacks, and identity theft, a new Internet threat has emerged that poses even greater risks, the security expert said.
Unlike the security risks posed by criminals, the threat from government regulation and data hoarders such as Apple and Google are more insidious because they threaten to alter the fabric of the Internet itself. They’re also different from traditional Internet threats because the perpetrators are shielded in a cloak of legitimacy. As a result, many people don’t recognize that their personal information or fortunes are more susceptible to these new forces than they ever were to the Russian Business Network or other Internet gangsters…
13 Security Myths You'll Hear—But Should You Believe?
Excerpt
Security Myth No. 1: “More Security is Always Better.”
Bruce Schneier, security expert and author of several books, including his most recent, Liars and Outliers, explains why this security concept of “you can’t get enough” that’s often bandied about is off the mark to him. Schneier explains: “More security isn’t necessarily better. First security is always a trade-off, and sometimes additional security costs more than it’s worth. For example, it’s not worth spending $100,000 to protect a donut. Yes, the donut would be more secure, but it would make more sense to simply risk the donut.” He also notes that “additional security is subject to diminishing returns. That is, measures that reduce a particular crime—say, shoplifting—by 25% cost some amount of money; but additional measures to reduce it another 25% cost much more. There will always be a point where more security isn’t worth it. And as a corollary, absolute security is not achievable.” Sometimes security may even become a moral choice and being in compliance might be an immoral decision, as it could pertain to a totalitarian system, for example. “Security enforces compliance, and sometimes complying isn’t the right thing to do.”…
The Security Industry All-Stars
From Bruce Schneier to Moxie Marlinspike, these folks are the ones to listen to for security insight
Excerpt
Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer of BT managed security solutions
With his skill in cryptography and security acumen, Schneier would be welcome on any All-Stars Security team. But it’s his ability to write candidly about social and political forces, as well the psychological aspects of security, that increasingly make him a philosopher in a world of technicians. His next book? He says it’s about “trust” and how a society does or does not foster it.
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.