News in the Category "Schneier on Security"
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Book Review: Schneier on Security
I had long ago listened to Schneier on TED and his expose on the fallacy of airport security, and security in general. But this book made me realize his activism is not limited to airport security—he talks on a broad range of topics including the privacy, government transparency (where it kinda didn’t sit well with me) and his advocacy around the how bad a job the US government in general, and organizations such as FBI, CIA and TSA in specific with respect to protecting its citizens. Here I do want to make a point—while his concepts are certainly global, his inferences are time and again to the Americans—whether due to the fact that most of the readers would anyways be Americans, or he views the world as “Americans and others”, I am not sure. Overall it is a decent read, but if I were to summarize his points into few bullet points, they are as follows:…
Book of the Month: Schneier on Security
Rating: 10/10
This has to be one of the most interesting, absorbing books I have read in a long time. Bruce Schneier, undoubtedly the world’s leading expert on the subject, presents this remarkable collection of essays on computer security. The book divides the collection of essays into 12 chapters on topics ranging from national security policy and privacy to economics and psychology.
It is refreshing to see a commonsense perspective on technological and security matters. Schneier sets the scene right from the start in an introduction to say all security involves trade-offs’. The theme cuts across the various domains covered by the essays in the entire book and in fact presents a very practical guiding principle for security researchers and practitioners…
Guru, Not Rock Star
I have a confession to make. Bruce is one of my heroes, so perhaps I shouldn’t be writing this review. Now it’s public knowledge—I am openly biased. However, it is a double-edged sword. Whilst I am the first to refer in glowing terms to Bruce’s writings on virtually every occasion that I’ve given my own presentations around the globe, I have to admit that hearing him in the flesh is just not the same experience.
I must hasten to note that this is an unfortunate phenomenon applicable to many in our select profession. Very few are able to hold an audience and simultaneously convey enough gravitas. Well, there goes any chance of Bruce ever talking to me again, let alone signing his book for my collection…
Schneier on Security (Book Review)
“There is a perception in both the private and government sector, that security, both physical and digital, is something you can buy. Witness the mammoth growth of airport security products following 9/11, and the sheer number of vendors at security conferences. With that, government officials and corporate executives often think you can simply buy products and magically get instant security by flipping on the switch. The reality is that security is not something you can buy; it is something you must get.”
Perhaps no one in the world gets security like author Bruce Schneier does. Schneier is a person who I am proud to have as a colleague [Schneier and I are both employed by the same parent company, but work in different divisions, in different parts of the country]. …
Sidebar photo of Bruce Schneier by Joe MacInnis.