3 ms·

She is blonde and pretty, irrelevant to 99% of attacks but when it comes to walking into buildings uninvited, pretty is like a gate pass. This is why one needs

She is blonde and pretty, irrelevant to 99% of attacks but when it comes to walking into buildings uninvited, pretty is like a gate pass. This is why one needs a diverse security team so that at least one member is less likely to tolerate the attractive person just walking in like they own the place.

louwrentius 2y ago
Why do yo assume adversaries would not - exactly for this reason (men dismissing women as an attack vector) - ask a women to plant a device? It's prejudice all the way down. This has nothing to do with DEI hiring. I mean: why is it up to women or people of different ethnicity to spot people who should not be in a building? Why can't men dump this perceived bias and not be so - allegedly - vulnerable? To me this really reads as an excuse to be dismissive of the accomplishment of a women who was succesvol at her job.
- sandworm101 2y ago
  >> Why can't men dump this perceived bias and not be so - allegedly - vulnerable? The certainly can, but the average minimum-wage front desk security guard tends to not. Doing so takes training. There are security guards specifically tipped to counter this sort of thing. It is taught in areas such as national security and, ironically, the entertainment industry. And why would this diminish one's accomplishments? For a physical pen tester, getting through is all that matters. Putting the effort in to being more physically attractive, as a tool, should not be diminished. Have a look at some of the spies that Russia has sent to penetrate US systems. Nobody thinks any less of them for being attractive. It is a very powerful weapon that certainly takes more effort than learning to metasploit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Chapman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Chapman
  - Freak_NL 2y ago
    True, but it doesn't have anything to do with diversity in hiring. Attractive people have an effect on everyone regardless of gender or skin colour. It's the combination of being attractive (but not overtly so), looking professional, looking as if you know exactly what you are doing, and being able to shrug off any questions in a plausible manner. You have to be likeable and trustworthy, and being attractive, apparently, helps to achieve that. Besides, a red team could just as easily send in the buff handsome black vending machine repairman if they figured that would get them past the security detail staffing the front entrance that day more easily, or team up and send in both; whoever gets the most questions asked just falls into the stalling routine whilst the other is waived through. It all comes down to training and giving a fuck about the job (i.e., being paid decently and made to feel appreciated).
    - orwin 2y ago
      It really depends on what you think diversity hiring ought to be. If it's about gender and skin colors, yeah, you're right. If it's about different experiences and point of view, diversity hiring might help in this case. Or good, regular training.
akimbostrawman 2y ago
In typical DEI fashion instead of finding actually solution to problems it is being used to further someone's political agenda. How about not relying solely on error prone humans to grant access to places. locks have been a thing for a milenia or do you also use a diverse team of log in guards to decide who can use what systems.
- sandworm101 2y ago
  >> error prone humans to grant access to places. locks have been a thing for a milenia Except that a friendly smile and bit of eye contact can often prove enough to slip in behind after someone else opens a door. I know of buildings with claustrophobically small turnstile doors specifically to address this problem.

louwrentius 2y ago

Why do yo assume adversaries would not - exactly for this reason (men dismissing women as an attack vector) - ask a women to plant a device? It's prejudice all the way down. This has nothing to do with DEI hiring. I mean: why is it up to women or people of different ethnicity to spot people who should not be in a building? Why can't men dump this perceived bias and not be so - allegedly - vulnerable? To me this really reads as an excuse to be dismissive of the accomplishment of a women who was succesvol at her job.

sandworm101 2y ago
>> Why can't men dump this perceived bias and not be so - allegedly - vulnerable? The certainly can, but the average minimum-wage front desk security guard tends to not. Doing so takes training. There are security guards specifically tipped to counter this sort of thing. It is taught in areas such as national security and, ironically, the entertainment industry. And why would this diminish one's accomplishments? For a physical pen tester, getting through is all that matters. Putting the effort in to being more physically attractive, as a tool, should not be diminished. Have a look at some of the spies that Russia has sent to penetrate US systems. Nobody thinks any less of them for being attractive. It is a very powerful weapon that certainly takes more effort than learning to metasploit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Chapman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Chapman
- Freak_NL 2y ago
  True, but it doesn't have anything to do with diversity in hiring. Attractive people have an effect on everyone regardless of gender or skin colour. It's the combination of being attractive (but not overtly so), looking professional, looking as if you know exactly what you are doing, and being able to shrug off any questions in a plausible manner. You have to be likeable and trustworthy, and being attractive, apparently, helps to achieve that. Besides, a red team could just as easily send in the buff handsome black vending machine repairman if they figured that would get them past the security detail staffing the front entrance that day more easily, or team up and send in both; whoever gets the most questions asked just falls into the stalling routine whilst the other is waived through. It all comes down to training and giving a fuck about the job (i.e., being paid decently and made to feel appreciated).
  - orwin 2y ago
    It really depends on what you think diversity hiring ought to be. If it's about gender and skin colors, yeah, you're right. If it's about different experiences and point of view, diversity hiring might help in this case. Or good, regular training.

akimbostrawman 2y ago

In typical DEI fashion instead of finding actually solution to problems it is being used to further someone's political agenda. How about not relying solely on error prone humans to grant access to places. locks have been a thing for a milenia or do you also use a diverse team of log in guards to decide who can use what systems.

sandworm101 2y ago
>> error prone humans to grant access to places. locks have been a thing for a milenia Except that a friendly smile and bit of eye contact can often prove enough to slip in behind after someone else opens a door. I know of buildings with claustrophobically small turnstile doors specifically to address this problem.