Juxtaposition

The other day, I made what I think is a very apt analogy comparing the security product industry to the diet and herbal supplement industry.

• Both operate with little to no oversight or regulation (though security at least has bloggers and scientists willing to call out some of the more egregious offenders)
• Products often have little to no academic, scientific or factual basis for their designs or claims
• Products tend toward the panacea/"silver bullet" realm and claim to solve all your ills

I'm sure that I am missing some more...

Posted by at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

But this here herring is so obviously red at Pandagon

I love the way they cut through the bullshit in this argument and reveal the naked fallacy underpinning it. It is a shame when proponents use the fact that society (wrongly) denigrates some activity (prostitution, homosexuality, gay marriage, being single, being a nontheist, etc.) that in itself has nothing to do with them and on its face is not "immoral" and has nothing to do with those who denigrate it and then writes off the fact that those engaging in the activity get victimized (wrongly) by saying that they knew the consequences ahead of time, so what's the big deal? Really irritating tactics.

Posted by at 12:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When Legal Strikes—Chaos Theory Meets DRM

Sadly, as management gets more cautious about legal repercussions, lawyers get a voice in decisions in which they not only have no expertise (such as IT), but in customer-facing initiatives, as well.

Sony's aggressive spyware approach to DRM smells to high hell of the kind of good-intentions-turned-cognitive-dirty-bomb so many Legal-inspired projects descend into.

This is an interesting opinion that I think is only potentially applicable to situations where the lawyer in question is representing the company's explicit interest. I haven't seen this happen in general though--particularly where the corporate lawyers are addressing issues that are _not_ in regards to the company interest (e.g. privacy law).

For the most part, I have seen these lawyers define a very low bar for a company to meet. The same tendency for lawyers "tend to wield power disproportionate to their duties" (I would use the word "influence" instead of power) leads to these proclamations to be interpreted to mean that the company should only meet the minimum bar. These lawyers are not in the business of suggesting what the company _should_ do, only a minimum of what it _has_ to do. Laws aren't necessarily sufficient or detailed enough to ensure that they are complied with, however. I have had several situations where lawyers have undone good security work because they proliferated the fact that the law didn't require the proscribed procedures, even though those procedures were in place to uphold that law. Lawyers seem to wield more influence than security folks though so who do you think was listened to?

Posted by at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Earlier this year, I got a chain email containing a powerpoint (!!) that I'm not going to pass on via email, but I liked the majority of the advice so here is a transcription.

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R's:
   Respect for self,
   Respect for others,
   Responsibility for all your actions .
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it!
8. Spend some time alone everyday.
9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then, when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation.
14. Don't bring up the past.
15. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
16. Be gentle with the earth.
17. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
18. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
19. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
20. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Posted by at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)