Security quotes of the week

From: Greg
To: Jussi
Subject: Re: need to ssh into rootkit
yes jussi thanks

did you reset the user greg or?

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From: Jussi
To: Greg
Subject: Re: need to ssh into rootkit
nope. your account is named as hoglund

Security isn't just a tax on the honest; it's a very expensive tax on the honest. It's the most expensive tax we pay, regardless of the country we live in. If people were angels, just think of the savings!

In my own private-sector security industry work, I observed a pattern: the higher the stakes, the worse the security. "Worse" usually means "more easily resolved with known techniques". I evaluated a wide range of applications and platforms, and almost invariably found that the most important systems — those managing life, health, and money — were poorly engineered. By contrast, small startups doing something interesting but not (yet) critical would sometimes have very well-engineered systems, with entire classes of vulnerability designed away, minimal feature creep, and solid development practices reducing the risk of accidental implementation flaws.