Security Technology Has Failed!

In their Changelog podcast #432 entitled “Big Breaches (and how to avoid them)”, Adam Stacoviak & Jerod Santo interview Neil Daswani who calls attention to the fact that “America has been hacked,” just in case that fact had escaped anyone.

And of course, it’s not just America that’s been hacked. We all need to face the fact that national borders generally mean nothing to streams of internet packets. The only meaningful barrier they provide in the digital age is the barrier to prosecution of criminal hackers. The crimes themselves are not affected by these meaningless lines on maps.

“How to avoid” these devastating breaches? Well, one thing that’s been amply proven is that security technology is not working. That’s right. Security technology does not work. One of the largest and fastest-growing market segments in IT, or for that matter all segments of all markets, is security technology. The latest figures show that the world spends a third of a trillion dollars annually – on mostly ineffective security.

Why? Well, because as long as the perception is that there’s no alternative, managers steadily increase their security budgets so that when the inevitable breach does occur they can say to the CEO or board of directors “I did all I could – look at how I increased our security budget!”

The incredible thing is that managers – everyone for that matter – is overlooking the fact that this problem is eminently solvable. Almost all existing security technology is based on the assumption that it’s possible to determine the intentions and character of a stream of bits.

Isn’t that like assuming that the lobby receptionist in your office building can determine the intentions and character of everyone who walks through the door? There’s a reason why building security isn’t based on the lobby receptionist’s ability to identify the bad guys as they enter. The reason of course is that that is not possible. That will not work.

Instead, we tell the receptionist to get some ID in the form of a business card, driver’s license, etc. In the physical world, security is about accountability. It’s not a cops-and-robbers game.

Watch the videos at https://whatisauthenticity.comto see how security based on accountability solves the problem!