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Anyone who relies on restricting information to stay in business is in trouble these days. I'm pretty sure (and there's a quote in the article about this) that

Anyone who relies on restricting information to stay in business is in trouble these days. I'm pretty sure (and there's a quote in the article about this) that thieves pretty much ignore locks and just smash and grab. Locks keep honest people honest.

mynameishere 18y ago
thieves pretty much ignore locks and just smash and grab. Thieves, but not spies.
- coglethorpe 18y ago
  I'm thinking spies already know how to pick a lock. Unless it's Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, but even they seem to get the job done in the end.
  - nickb 18y ago
    Anyone with an access to this book and some practice can crack even the most secure locks and safes: http://security.org/dial-0/lss.htm http://security.org/dial-0/lss.htm
auston 18y ago
"Anyone who relies on restricting information to stay in business is in trouble these days." That would be the "SEO" industry (not the entire industry.. just 90%).
- ovi256 18y ago
  Add (management, strategy) consultants to that.
  - tjr 18y ago
    And illusionists.
    - helveticaman 18y ago
      And other illusionists.
    - william42 18y ago
      Actually, a lot of them(Derren Brown, Penn & Teller, James Randi) do reveal a lot of their tricks.
  - coglethorpe 18y ago
    The only thing they need to keep hidden is their own ignorance.
albertcardona 18y ago
There are at least two great examples in "Freakonomics": the price of life insurances, and selling your own house (think real state agents.)
- eru 18y ago
  Yes. So the above quote is a bit misleading. Better cite Kerckhoff's principle.
demallien 18y ago
Yes and no. Perhaps more accurately you should say 'Anyone who relies on restricting information indefinately to stay in business is in trouble these days.' There are many cases where restricting information for a limited duration is an entirely viable business proposition. A classic example is Pay TV. In Europe, Pay TV operators make an absolute truckload of money each time the Football World Cup rolls around. Why? Just before the tournament starts, they all update the algorithms protecting their broadcasts. In general, these algorithms are pretty thoroughly hacked, and you can relatively easily get your hands on a pirated STB to get your feed. But it takes a while to figure these hacks out (anywhere between 1 month and several years, depending on how clever the scheme is). The thing is, it's no good figuring out how to crack the system in 3 months time, the pirate's customer wants to watch the football live! So, he has no choice but to cough up the money for the official STB/Pay TV subscription.

mynameishere 18y ago

thieves pretty much ignore locks and just smash and grab. Thieves, but not spies.

coglethorpe 18y ago
I'm thinking spies already know how to pick a lock. Unless it's Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd, but even they seem to get the job done in the end.
- nickb 18y ago
  Anyone with an access to this book and some practice can crack even the most secure locks and safes: http://security.org/dial-0/lss.htm http://security.org/dial-0/lss.htm

auston 18y ago

"Anyone who relies on restricting information to stay in business is in trouble these days." That would be the "SEO" industry (not the entire industry.. just 90%).

ovi256 18y ago
Add (management, strategy) consultants to that.
- tjr 18y ago
  And illusionists.
  - helveticaman 18y ago
    And other illusionists.
  - william42 18y ago
    Actually, a lot of them(Derren Brown, Penn & Teller, James Randi) do reveal a lot of their tricks.
- coglethorpe 18y ago
  The only thing they need to keep hidden is their own ignorance.

albertcardona 18y ago

There are at least two great examples in "Freakonomics": the price of life insurances, and selling your own house (think real state agents.)

eru 18y ago
Yes. So the above quote is a bit misleading. Better cite Kerckhoff's principle.

demallien 18y ago

Yes and no. Perhaps more accurately you should say 'Anyone who relies on restricting information indefinately to stay in business is in trouble these days.' There are many cases where restricting information for a limited duration is an entirely viable business proposition. A classic example is Pay TV. In Europe, Pay TV operators make an absolute truckload of money each time the Football World Cup rolls around. Why? Just before the tournament starts, they all update the algorithms protecting their broadcasts. In general, these algorithms are pretty thoroughly hacked, and you can relatively easily get your hands on a pirated STB to get your feed. But it takes a while to figure these hacks out (anywhere between 1 month and several years, depending on how clever the scheme is). The thing is, it's no good figuring out how to crack the system in 3 months time, the pirate's customer wants to watch the football live! So, he has no choice but to cough up the money for the official STB/Pay TV subscription.