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2006 Stupid Security Competition]
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 20:56:34 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Rich Kulawiec <rsk () gsp org> Date: August 28, 2006 8:48:14 PM EDT To: dave () farber netSubject: Fwd: [rforno () infowarrior org: [Infowarrior] - 2006 Stupid Security Competition]
----- Forwarded message from Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org> -----
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:20:20 -0400 From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org> To: Infowarrior List <infowarrior () attrition org> Subject: [Infowarrior] - 2006 Stupid Security Competition PI announces the 2006 Stupid Security Competition 21/08/2006 STUPID SECURITY AWARDShttp://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd[347] =x-347-541996We've all been there. Standing for ages in a security line at aninconsequential office building only to be given a security pass that a high school student could have faked. Or being forced to produce photo ID foreven the most innocent activity.If you thought after Enron that the accountancy profession was bad news, just wait till you hear how terrible the security industry has become. Even before the recent "liquid bomb" scare a whole army of bumbling amateurs hastaken it upon themselves to figure out pointless, annoying, intrusive, illusory and just plain stupid measures to "protect" our security.Stupid security has become a global menace. From the airport that this month emptied out a full plane because a passenger was drinking from a lemonade bottle, to the British schools that fingerprint their children to ? stop? thetheft of library books, to the airline company that refused to allowpassengers to bring books or magazines onto the plane, the world has become infested with bumptious administrators competing to hinder or harass us -and often for no good reason whatever.The sensitive and sensible folk at Privacy International have endured enoughof this treatment. So we are running an international competition todiscover the world's most pointless, intrusive, stupid and self- servingsecurity measures. The "Stupid Security Awards" aim to highlight the absurdities of thesecurity industry. Privacy International?s director, Simon Davies, said his group had taken the initiative because of ?innumerable? security initiatives around the world that had absolutely no genuine security benefit. The awards were first staged in 2003 and attracted over 5,000 nominations. This will bethe second competition in the series."The situation has become ridiculous" said Mr Davies. "Security has becomethe smokescreen for incompetent and robotic managers the world over".Unworkable security practices and illusory security measures do nothing to help issues of real public concern. They only hinder the public, intrude unnecessary into our private lives and often reduce us to the status ofcattle.The airline industry is the most prominent offender, but it is not alone. Consider the UK rail company that banned train-spotters on the grounds of security (e.g. see this article(external). Or the security desk of a USoffice building that complained because paramedics rushing to attend a heart-attack victim had failed to sign-in. Or the metro company thatinstalled a $20,000 biological weapons/gas detector and placed it openly next to a power plug so terrorists could conveniently unplug the device.Privacy International is calling for nominations to name and shame the worst offenders. The competition closes on October 31st 2006. The award categoriesare: * Most Egregiously Stupid Award * Most Inexplicably Stupid Award * Most Annoyingly Stupid Award * Most Flagrantly Intrusive Award * Most Stupidly Counter Productive Award The competition will be judged by an international panel of well-known security experts, public policy specialists, privacy advocates and journalists.The competition is open to anyone from any country. Nominations can be sentto stupidsecurity () privacy org. Details of previous award winners can be found below, or at http://www.privacyinternational.org/ssa2003winners. _______________________________________________ Infowarrior mailing list Infowarrior () attrition org https://attrition.org/mailman/listinfo/infowarrior
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- 2006 Stupid Security Competition] David Farber (Aug 28)