- Get a grip or you don't get the job
- Desktops of the future here today
- Researcher hides IE attack on Web
- Cisco third quarter 2008 channel stuffing
- Sci-Fi's goofiest gadgets and technology
Rss FeedRss Feed
Crackin' the Kraken bot. Listen now!
Wireless dangers at airports. Listen now!
Before now, midsize customers settled for either an expensive and complex array or low cost solution that lacked functionality. Now experience virtual storage with enterprise class functionality at an affordable price.
Get the latest on storage technologies that allow IT professionals to better cope with new IT demands. Learn how storage technologies can help you successfully tackle e-Discover, regulatory compliance, green data center initiatives and the data explosion. Get all the details now.
Watch this webcast to learn in six modules how to more cost effectively consolidate your Windows servers with virtualization. This unique program allows you to pick and choose which of the six modules you would like to view or watch the entire webcast at once. Topics covered: Performance, Use Cases, Enterprise-level Support, Managing Windows Workloads, Setup and Configuration and The Future. Find out how you can simplify server consolidation within your organization today. Register below to learn more and be entered to win an Archos 605 Portable Media Player.
win baby- Anonymous
MINNEAPOLIS -- Bruce Schneier shared his ideas about the psychology of security, and the need for thinking sensibly about security, in his hometown Wednesday night when he gave a lecture at the Weisman Art Museum on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
Schneier’s lecture was scheduled in conjunction with an exhibition of photographer Paul Shambroom’s images of power (Shambroom’s photographs capture scenes in industrial, business, community and military environments.) The association of Schneier’s lecture with the photography exhibit says a lot about how the security guru’s focus has evolved over the years from the bits and bytes of cryptography and computer security to include a more broad examination of personal safety, crime, corporate security and national security.
The theme of Schneier’s talk was the “security theater,” a term he uses to describe security measures that are designed to make people feel safer but don’t necessarily do so.
“Security is really two different things. It’s a feeling and it’s a reality. And they’re very different,” he said. “You can feel secure even though you’re not, and you can be secure even though you don’t feel it.”
One example of security theater he gave is tamper-resistant caps for over-the-counter medicines, which were introduced in the wake of Tylenol-tampering incidents in the 1980s. As a means of preventing tampering, the packaging is more security theater than an effective countermeasure: Someone intent on tampering with the contents could use a syringe, for example, Schneier said.
Security theater can be dangerous because it takes money, time and attention away from genuine security efforts that are aimed at directing effective countermeasures at real risks. But security theater isn’t all bad, Schneier said. In some cases, security theater used to allay fears that are out of whack with reality can be a good thing.
For example, as a means of making consumers feel more secure about buying nonprescription drugs (which mathematically are at minimal risk of being tampered with), the tamper-proof packaging served to bring people’s feelings about security more in line with reality, he said.
| NetworkWorld, Inc. | About Network World, Inc. | Advertise | Careers | Contact us | Terms of Service/Privacy | Reprints and links | Partnerships | Press room | Subscribe to NW |
| IDG, Inc. | CIO | Computerworld | CSO | Demo | GamePro | Games.net | IDGconnect.com | IDG World Expo | Infoworld | JavaWorld.com | LinuxWorld.com | MacUser | Macworld | PC World | Playlistmag.com The Industry Standard IDG List Services |
 |
Copyright © 1994-2008 Network World, Inc. All rights reserved. |
