Alan wrote... > Unfortunately, even some in the security industry feed off that fear. > > Security people need to remain level-headed. Panic and > paranoia does not > help the thought process. If you are going to defend systems > against an > unknown, you need to have all of your wits about you, or else > you end up > spending huge amounts of time and money on things that don't > help, and may > make things worse. You are very correct Alan. In my line of work (network and computer security) there are many consultants and companies who live off terrifying people about hackers. Their rhetoric is usually designed to frighten them into buying expensive solutions or cumbersome network designs. And most of the time, these solutions are crap. Hackers are a problem, there is no doubt about that. But, there is also some very basic and relatively inexpensive ways to stop hackers and dramatically lower risk and exposure. Unfortunately, given current events, these doomsayers are getting a lot of coverage and press. Just last night on some news show, there was some mouthing fool going on about how the Internet is doomed. The overriding common thread among these people is that they just want attention. They don't have solutions or answers - just complaints. Like a person who bickers constantly through a movie that it isn't "real enough" for their tastes. The fact is, we should focus our attention on solving security problems and reducing risk. Yeah - hackers are out there. Now let's spot, track, and stop these people. Same with terrorists. There are people out there that are evil, hateful people who want to do harm. We need methods to spot, track, and stop these people. Like all industries, the network security industry is evolving. Hopefully, the doomsayers and snake oil salespeople will get pushed out soon and the realistic, honest, and practical solutions will dominate. But, it requires all of us to demand that the doomsayers shut up and focus on solving problems. As the saying goes: if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. ------------------------------------ Andrew Plato President / Principal Consultant Anitian Corporation (503) 644-5656 office (503) 201-0821 cell http://www.anitian.com Yahoo Messenger: Anitian ------------------------------------
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