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Inventor of Proxy Firewall Blames Hackers

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the get-your-rage-out dept.

An anonymous reader writes "SecurityFocus published an interview with Marcus Ranum, the inventor of the proxy firewall. It's an interesting reading, and the end is even better: Truly, the only people who deserve a complete helping of blame are the hackers. Let's not forget that they're the ones doing this to us. They're the ones who are annoying an entire planet. They're the ones who are costing us billions of dollars a year to secure our systems against them. They're the ones who place their desire for fun ahead of everyone on earth's desire for peace and the right to privacy."

2 of 742 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I agree... by NardofDoom · · Score: 0, Troll
    The problem is that we're not dealing with people. A corporation that holds data on tens of millions of people will only protect that data to a degree that it is still profitable to collect it. That is to say, they will weigh the risks and costs of a break in against the cost of security and choose the level of security that will give them profit.

    Without government mandated security or huge penalties for leaking data from lawsuits, there is no real impetus to put up more than a token security system. And with a corporatist government in power fighting for tort 'reform,' neither of those things are going to happen.

    --
    You have two hands and one brain, so always code twice as much as you think!
  2. Defense of immorality is as bad as the behavior by machinegunhand · · Score: 0, Troll

    The blame should be placed on the destructive behavior of hackers. Those who believe that they're actually doing society a favor are wrong.

    Sure, hackers "encourage" us to create more secure systems. And when phrased this way, we see their actions as "good" and "progressive."

    But consider this logic as applied to other issues in our society: Criminals encourage us to create better laws. Sexually promiscuous people help us realize the need for better medicine for treating symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases. Thieves create an itch, and better home security systems help scratch it.

    See, it's wrong to defend the immoral behavior that leads us down this road. Criminals are not to thank for making this world a better place.