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This is such a "funny" mess! In computer security, if obscure researcher Bob discovers that a few instructions can theoretically be used to steal Joe's passwor

by dsign 5y ago

This is such a "funny" mess! In computer security, if obscure researcher Bob discovers that a few instructions can theoretically be used to steal Joe's passwords at the random location in memory where they are by burning the CPU using some webassembly, we make a huge deal of it. We slow down all CPUs in the world overnight to cope with that thus-far _theoretical_ attack, threaten the CPU designer with class action lawsuits, and hail Bob as a hero. With this virus, we are doing the opposite: we are distributing the patch (vaccine) at glacial speeds (while our economies burn). No "hardware hardening" is being discussed and we are not bringing a class-action lawsuit against God for all His vulnerabilities. All we are saying is "This is your fault Bob, we are going after you!"

sgt101 5y ago
>we are distributing the patch (vaccine) at glacial speeds (while our economies burn). Be fair - the vaccine development and distribution program is by far the fastest in history and has wildly exceeded even the most optimistic predictions at the beginning of the pandemic. Also, consider how long it took Amazon to build a global distribution system for things like books and cheap gifts. 10 years? Maybe more... Now "hardware hardening" - what would that be in your analogy?
- dsign 5y ago
  > Be fair - the vaccine development and distribution program is by far the fastest in history and has wildly exceeded even the most optimistic predictions at the beginning of the pandemic. Maybe so, but what would happen if bad actors had the capability to create viruses easily? My understanding is that the tech for it is already around the corner, if not currently available. Are we just going to trust that bad actors won't have the motivation to use them? Returning to my compsec analogy above, Bob and the rest of the compsec good guys don't care about any possible motivations, just that it is possible. For the record, I'm not 100% for that approach, but it seems to be the way things work. > Now "hardware hardening" - what would that be in your analogy? We have an immune system that--for the most part--works. It does cause terrible diseases in most people[^1] , and there is a bunch of things that it's not very good at, specially for old folk. Maybe it, and the rest of the system, needs some "technical love"? Honestly, we are technologically far from being able to completely fix it, but I would be happy if we had the same heated and open discussions about that backlog --and what can be done with it--the same way we have about practically anything else. [^1]: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/autoimmune-diseases https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/autoimmune-diseases

by dsign 5y ago

sgt101 5y ago

>we are distributing the patch (vaccine) at glacial speeds (while our economies burn). Be fair - the vaccine development and distribution program is by far the fastest in history and has wildly exceeded even the most optimistic predictions at the beginning of the pandemic. Also, consider how long it took Amazon to build a global distribution system for things like books and cheap gifts. 10 years? Maybe more... Now "hardware hardening" - what would that be in your analogy?

dsign 5y ago
> Be fair - the vaccine development and distribution program is by far the fastest in history and has wildly exceeded even the most optimistic predictions at the beginning of the pandemic. Maybe so, but what would happen if bad actors had the capability to create viruses easily? My understanding is that the tech for it is already around the corner, if not currently available. Are we just going to trust that bad actors won't have the motivation to use them? Returning to my compsec analogy above, Bob and the rest of the compsec good guys don't care about any possible motivations, just that it is possible. For the record, I'm not 100% for that approach, but it seems to be the way things work. > Now "hardware hardening" - what would that be in your analogy? We have an immune system that--for the most part--works. It does cause terrible diseases in most people[^1] , and there is a bunch of things that it's not very good at, specially for old folk. Maybe it, and the rest of the system, needs some "technical love"? Honestly, we are technologically far from being able to completely fix it, but I would be happy if we had the same heated and open discussions about that backlog --and what can be done with it--the same way we have about practically anything else. [^1]: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/autoimmune-diseases https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/autoimmune-diseases