4 ms·

The most important general takeaway I have is that you can't rely purely on passive security. No matter how elaborate your designs, someone will always find a

The most important general takeaway I have is that you can't rely purely on passive security. No matter how elaborate your designs, someone will always find a way in given enough incentive. And given enough time, a tricky, narrow exploit gets widened into a highway. Security is a red queen. You have to run fast just to stay in the same place.

capableweb 6y ago
> No matter how elaborate your designs, someone will always find a way in given enough incentive I'd reverse it. When you realize you need "security" you can't just focus on one or two aspects. You have to figure out what you need security from. A padlock won't stop the government of course, but it will stop a teenager who wouldn't want to leave any trace of breaking it nor know how to pick locks. Just like storing your cryptocurrencies on a hardware device might protect it against phishing attacks or other technological attacks but it won't stop someone from grabbing you in person and threatening you with a hammer. For that you need physical protection. So unless you know who you're protecting yourself/your thing against, you won't be able to know what security you really need.
- kube-system 6y ago
  i.e. "threat model" Be weary of anyone who makes security recommendations without first qualifying their audience's threat model. Unless they understand what they're trying to protect against, it's simply opinionated guesswork, and could even be counterproductive.
mgarfias 6y ago
I guess my dog is “active” security then.
- bawolff 6y ago
  Yes, that very literally is active security.
- fanatic2pope 6y ago
  Depends on the dog. Years ago I had a black lab who slept peacefully right through an entire burglary. They even had to step over him to get to my CD collection.
  - mgarfias 6y ago
    I’ve got a pack of shepherds. They are all quite active. Even the old guy
- NicoJuicy 6y ago
  There's a whistle that scares all dogs.
  - cafard 6y ago
    Without making them bark?
    - NicoJuicy 6y ago
      Yes. They become really scared and go to a safe corner. Steve/Source: my uncle had burglars while they were sleeping and the dogs never barked.

capableweb 6y ago

> No matter how elaborate your designs, someone will always find a way in given enough incentive I'd reverse it. When you realize you need "security" you can't just focus on one or two aspects. You have to figure out what you need security from. A padlock won't stop the government of course, but it will stop a teenager who wouldn't want to leave any trace of breaking it nor know how to pick locks. Just like storing your cryptocurrencies on a hardware device might protect it against phishing attacks or other technological attacks but it won't stop someone from grabbing you in person and threatening you with a hammer. For that you need physical protection. So unless you know who you're protecting yourself/your thing against, you won't be able to know what security you really need.

kube-system 6y ago
i.e. "threat model" Be weary of anyone who makes security recommendations without first qualifying their audience's threat model. Unless they understand what they're trying to protect against, it's simply opinionated guesswork, and could even be counterproductive.

mgarfias 6y ago

I guess my dog is “active” security then.

bawolff 6y ago
Yes, that very literally is active security.
fanatic2pope 6y ago
Depends on the dog. Years ago I had a black lab who slept peacefully right through an entire burglary. They even had to step over him to get to my CD collection.
- mgarfias 6y ago
  I’ve got a pack of shepherds. They are all quite active. Even the old guy
NicoJuicy 6y ago
There's a whistle that scares all dogs.
- cafard 6y ago
  Without making them bark?
  - NicoJuicy 6y ago
    Yes. They become really scared and go to a safe corner. Steve/Source: my uncle had burglars while they were sleeping and the dogs never barked.