IP: latest RANT -- on security from Jock Gill!

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

Dave,


Here is a problem for the IP list: Who knows, much less cares, that
security matters to all of us in our everyday lives?  Most of the people I
know find discussions of secure work stations, trusted sessions,
accountability, certificates, encryption etc to be B-O-R-I-N-G -  a big
yawn.  They seem not to care that the emperor has no clothes.


The only folks who seem to care are government security types, propeller
heads, a few civil libertarians, political theorists  and not too many
business people.  For example, there were more than a few empty chairs at
the recent JFK - Council on Foreign Relations session on security and the
information age -- even with several very senior and unusual government
types on the panel.  It is discouraging that even at the highest levels of
academia that so few care about these critical issues.


On the other hand, if Microsoft and Intel, with most of the rest of the
industry, refuse to support these issues, where is the trusted source who
can say these are important issues?  The press?  Where are they?


If so few of us see any reason to care, much less think, about essential
security issues and their dynamic inter-relationship with a civil
democratic society, how can the process of informed self governance work?


What would be some rational and level headed ways to make these issues
relevant to the daily lives of even a small majority of Americans?  If we
do not, what will the consequences be?


For example, the BFG paper on 15 key security issues, well reviewed by a
goodly number of professionals, suggests that the emperor has no clothes:
security in today's general computing arena is a chimera.  If the network
is utterly untrustworthy in the deepest sense, what are we building?


I would be interested in your thoughts and the thoughts of the members of
the list.


Regards,


Jock


PS:  The BFG security paper may be found at:


      http://www.penfield-gill.com/BFG/security-paper.html




________________________________________________________________________
Jock Gill
Penfield Gill, Inc.
Boston,  MA
jgill () penfield-gill com           
<http://www.penfield-gill.com>
       _______________________________________________________________________