Preventing intellectual property abuse
One of my pet peeves with security vendors like Symantec, Vontu, Websense and Checkpoint is marketing collateral that totally disregards the basics of security – it’s like they hired an English major straight out of school and told them to start writing. Sensitive assets, confidential assets, proprietary assets – you can make a total mishmash […]
Orange Israel customer service sucks
I have been an Orange mobile subscriber for over 10 years – since they launched and I’m generally very happy with the operation of the network but it’s clear that if they managed their mobile network with the same incompetence that they manage their online services – Partner would have gone bankrupt years agao. Orange […]
The black swan of security
A major data loss event like Hannaford Supermarkets (4M credit card records leaked…) is a black swan as described by Nassim Nicholas Taleb – it has three characteristics: Appears as a complete surprise to the company Has a major impact to the point of maiming or destroying the institution (note the case of Card Systems […]
Cutting through the marketing b/s of security products
I think FUD is not going to cut it anymore. There is currently no standard, vendor-neutral methodology tp quantify information security risk and justify technology purchases. Maybe during the GFC as budgets dwindle down and threats ratchet up – security analysts will finally get some real work done. In order for a company to decide […]
Why do people commit crimes?
The president of a prospect was recently discussing with us whether Oracle IRM (information rights management) was a good way of preventing data loss, and a viable alternative to a DLP (data loss prevention) system. Rights management would appear at first blush to be orthogonal to data loss prevention but it’s an interesting question that […]
Reporting to a management board that doesn’t want to listen
Like the warnings on cigarette packets – whistle blowing may be hazardous to your health. HBOS chief risk officer Paul Moore blew the whistle on the bank’s risk exposure and lost his job. Last week, the UK Treasury Select committee heard allegations from Moore ( who was sacked by Sir James Crosby in 2005) – […]
Why I am voting Likud
My friend Jacob Richman wrote a page on his web site explaining why he will vote Ichud Leumi (NUP). As a person who has traditionally voted for religious/Zionist parties – I feel compelled to answer Jacob in public. There are a number of flaws in his argumentations regarding the National Union Party (NUP) 1. The […]
A jazz trumpeter in a classical orchestra
Kenny Wheeler’s music for small and large ensembles is one of my favorites. A conductor is getting an orchestra together for a performance but is having trouble getting a trumpet player. Finally, he calls a contractor, who tells him, “Well, the only guy I’ve got available at the moment is this jazz trumpeter.”
A strategic inflection point in the security industry
Compliance is like being at all the rehearsals with a sharp pencil and playing your part perfectly – but not showing up to the gig. Being inside a strategic inflection point of change is like waking up during your own murder. Inside a strategic inflection point of change, the people inside the system are not […]
Speed is everything
Jeżeli wydaje ci się, że wszystko jest pod kontrolą, to na pewno nie jedziesz wystarczająco szybko. If you think everything is under control, it certainly is not going fast enough. Mario Andretti,Formula 1 Driver I saw this quote today and I was reminded of a takeaway from Andy Grove’s book – “Only the paranoid succeed”. […]
