The altruism here is inspiring. I?m glad we have a group of highly paid security folks willing to give their time and money away for free. Just don?t go into business for yourself. And while it warms my heart to see everyone rally behind network security, the point of the article has been missed?or at least my perverted interpretation of it.

What?s the moral of the story? The answer is? most people are lazy. People don?t know how to program their VCR, or use their home theater system. People don?t know how to transfer a phone call at the office. People don?t change their oil at 3,000 miles. People don?t purchase life insurance. People don?t pay attention while driving. People just don?t act responsibly.

To convince yourself that people will suddenly learn to act responsibly is madness. Scott?s article rings true because it shows how the general population does not care about network security. To quote Scott? ?I'm here to tell the security pros reading this that we are in deeeeeep trouble when it comes to securing the computers of these people?

I agree. Why? Because people want to use their PC as a tool, and don?t want to worry about the tool attacking them back.

And sometimes it is not negligence; but simply a reasonable lack of interest. Most of us visiting Security Focus are technophiles. We like computers and we enjoy learning about the IT field. But many people are turned off by the complexity, unfamiliarity, and changing landscape of computers. These people have barely learned the step-by-step process to send email.

And people don?t want to pay something they don?t care about. They don?t want to pay for security. They are optimists. What percentage of the population has car alarms? Home security systems? Surveillance systems? Perhaps the rich and educated have a higher percentage, but these are NOT the general population Scott?s article highlights. We are talking about the mass population. All this security stuff is a moving target for them. It keeps changing on them. Anyone remember DOS based F-Prot? How long has Window Update been around?

What is my point? The computer industry is evolving. Things are getting better, but the law of unintended consequences will ensure we have casualties in the general population. This includes your mom and your grandma, Sorry. You can try to educate and protect your loved ones, but you can?t protect everyone. You bleeding hearts can try, but you can?t educate people who don?t want to learn. And for those who think that government can protect everyone, get over it. They can?t keep their own networks safe.


[ reply ]

Link to this comment: http://www.securityfocus.com/comments/columns/193/23318#23318