In the week of the OPEN MINDS conference on technology, which focuses in part on the future of da...

[G+_Wing]

Originally shared by Carl Green

 

In the week of the OPEN MINDS conference on technology, which focuses in part on the future of data security and breach protection, this next item seems highly relevant. It is a story which shows how easy it can be to be the unwitting source of a data…

http://gystservices.com/blog/2014/11/08/true-tales-of-technology/

[G+_Blaine Matton]

Great post. I love the statement " Security is often about the things that you don’t think you need to worry about."

[G+_Carl Green]

Thanks, Blaine. This is one example chosen from a long list that I could have picked from to highlight the point. In the regular world, chances of this turning into something that makes headlines is very small. But then the world of security is built on very small probabilities, isn't it?

[G+_Dave Trautman]

I remember talking to a government security guy back when workstations were being installed across the whole administration. He was asked where the vulnerabilities were in their deployment. HIs answer was "the people". The biggest risk factor in securing information, among the many which can be listed, are the people you are trusting with these secrets.

 

I've kept those words in memory ever since (this was the early 80s) because almost every breach I've seen since had a root in the people who were casual or ignorant of their failure to think about security.

 

I once learned an entire government department was sharing the same password in order to make it easier for themselves. How so many people could have agreed to this was beyond my comprehension. But once I learned of it I took steps to get it stopped. These people needed an intense course in what could go wrong with that thinking. They were part of a sensitive government service but they felt their particular department did not handle the truly sensitive data requiring extra effort to secure.

 

No matter where I go I see plenty of situations which clearly show it is the people who end up causing a breach. It's not all just lazy programmers.