Medical Vaccines as an Analogy to Information Security

[Gadi Evron <ge () linuxbox org>]

In the information security field, we often encounter an ethical 
dilemma. Should information become public, so that people can protect 
themselves, or better decide how to do so. Or should it remain secret so 
that larger harm is prevented? The world of Vaccines shows us an image 
of how medical professionals deal with the issue.

I recently wrote a blog post on an unrelated subject, vaccines and their 
risks - http://gevron.livejournal.com/24073.html. I have been gathering 
information on whether they are safe for some time now.

While they are in fact, in the vast majority of cases, safe, there is no 
easily available information online as to the risks associated with 
vaccination. Most of this data, therefore, can be found in scare-monger 
websites, spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Whatever reason vaccine professionals have to take the party-line, we 
can assume one reason they do not wish public debate to avoid risk of 
more people not vaccinating, potentially increasing the death-toll and 
causing epidemics.

The similarities don't end there, and it truly is fascinating. For 
example the World Health Organization (WHO) monitors disease globally, 
detects new epidemics and responds accordingly, and thus monitoring the 
success of vaccines as well.

An interesting anecdote is how regulation trumps personal liberties 
world-wide in vaccination programs for new-born babies, as the risk of 
epidemics outweighs the infringement. Some people claim that this is no 
longer the case, and that these programs need to be reexamined. They 
seem to be wrong, but information is not easily available online. It is 
interesting to note, as once successful, even if it was no longer 
helpful I very much doubt society would easily change in this regard, 
much like I am sure it was difficult to initiate this program to begin with.

I doubt such regulation will happen in information security, but a 
common stance such as vaccine developers and medical doctors have on 
emerging threats could be highly beneficial to our field, when 
approaching the public.

Many interesting strategic and psychological lessons can be learned by 
examining this field, when compared to information security.

        Gadi.
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