Re: Math not Ironport's top suite?

["David Harley" <david.a.harley () gmail com>]

> It's about breaching the human interface.  If people 
> understand something and literalists insist on correcting 
> them, it doesn't serve the purpose of advancing any goal - it 
> only expands the rift.  

Oh dear, we're going to get serious. ;-)

I do think a leaning towards pedantry is often part of the security geek
mindset. Not only do we tend to have a scientific background where a certain
amount of intellectual rigour is expected, if not always found, but we also
operate in an area where we're perpetually hampered by myth and
misinformation. I don't think pedantry is necessarily counter-productive.

What people understand is not always what they get, as Valdis pointed out. I
don't suppose anyone at Virginia Tech minds the NOC taking time out once a
year for mince pies and a glass or three of sherry, but if your
understanding is that you're protected by a service that never sleeps, when
what it actually means is "24/7 except for public holidays and nobody
answers the phone between 22:00 and 06:00", that isn't trivial. 

As far as Ironport is concerned, I guess we -can- assume that what they mean
-is- all day, every day, all year round, but the fact that they use a
terminologically incorrect expression (however commonly used) to convey that
message does tell you something not altogether comforting about their
operation. 

I don't say that even I would decline to use a company's services because
their marketing is badly worded, but you don't necessarily want to bet your
anti-malware budget on the basis of marketing material that was probably not
finally vetted by anyone remotely technical. 

(That assertion doesn't only derive from 24/7/365, but from the fact that
the malware that currently constitutes a "virus outbreak" according to
Ironport isn't actually viral...)

I rather like "all day, every day, all year round". It may not be fine
English, but it gets round -all- the numeric objections.  :)

> There is no difference whatsoever between engineering 
> technology and sociology.  One is just much simpler while the 
> other requires a deeper understanding of the inter-relation 
> of the components and systems.  I leave it to the reader to 
> decide which one is which...

Speaking as someone with a background in social sciences -and- computer
science, I know where I feel most comfortable. :-/

--
David Harley


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