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> Our computer security analogies are modeled around securing a home from burglars Well, no home is burglar-proof either. Just like with computer security, we

by GTP 2y ago

> Our computer security analogies are modeled around securing a home from burglars Well, no home is burglar-proof either. Just like with computer security, we define , often just implicitly, a threat model and then we decide which kind of security measures we use to protect our homes. But a determined burglar could still find a way in. And here we get to a classic security consideration: if the effort required to break your security is greater than the benefit obtained from doing so, you're adequately protected from most threats.

coldpie 2y ago
I agree, my point is we need to be using the correct threat model when thinking about those risks. You might feel comfortable storing your unreplaceable valuables in a house that is reasonably secure against burglars, even if it's not perfectly secure. But you'd feel otherwise about an oceanfront property regularly facing 30 foot storm surges. I'm saying the latter is the correct frame of mind to be in when thinking about whether to put data onto an Internet-connected computer. It's no huge loss if the sea takes all the cat photos off my phone. But if you're a hospital or civil services admin hooking up your operation to the Internet, you gotta be prepared for it all to go out to sea one day, because it will. Is that worth the gains?
myself248 2y ago
And I think there's some cognitive problem that prevents people from understanding that "the effort required to break your security" has been rapidly trending towards zero. This makes the equation effectively useless. (Possibly even negative, when people go out and deliberately install apps that, by backdoor or by design, hoover up their data, etc. And when the mainstream OSes are disincentivized to prevent this because it's their business model too.) There was a time, not very long ago, when I could just tcpdump my cable-modem interface and know what every single packet was. The occasional scan or probe stuck out like a sore thumb. Today I'd be drinking from such a firehose of scans I don't even have words for it. It's not even beachfront property, we live in a damn submarine.

by GTP 2y ago

coldpie 2y ago

I agree, my point is we need to be using the correct threat model when thinking about those risks. You might feel comfortable storing your unreplaceable valuables in a house that is reasonably secure against burglars, even if it's not perfectly secure. But you'd feel otherwise about an oceanfront property regularly facing 30 foot storm surges. I'm saying the latter is the correct frame of mind to be in when thinking about whether to put data onto an Internet-connected computer. It's no huge loss if the sea takes all the cat photos off my phone. But if you're a hospital or civil services admin hooking up your operation to the Internet, you gotta be prepared for it all to go out to sea one day, because it will. Is that worth the gains?

myself248 2y ago

And I think there's some cognitive problem that prevents people from understanding that "the effort required to break your security" has been rapidly trending towards zero. This makes the equation effectively useless. (Possibly even negative, when people go out and deliberately install apps that, by backdoor or by design, hoover up their data, etc. And when the mainstream OSes are disincentivized to prevent this because it's their business model too.) There was a time, not very long ago, when I could just tcpdump my cable-modem interface and know what every single packet was. The occasional scan or probe stuck out like a sore thumb. Today I'd be drinking from such a firehose of scans I don't even have words for it. It's not even beachfront property, we live in a damn submarine.