Securosis

Menu

Research

Incite 4/30/2014: Sunscreen

Mike Rothman April 30, 2014 No Comments

After a mostly miserable winter, at least in terms of the weather, spring is here. And some days it feels like summer. This past weekend was awesome. A little hot, but nice. Sun shining. Watching the kids play LAX. Dinner/drinks to celebrate two of my best friends completing a trail marathon. Yes, they ran 26.2 miles through the woods. I didn’t say my friends were overly bright, did I? What I didn’t wear was sunscreen. So when you check out the Firestarter we recorded Monday, you will see I spent some time in the sun. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised – I do this every year. I just forget. It’s doesn’t feel that hot. The sun isn’t that strong. Until I’m getting ready for bed and I look like a tomato. Evidently the sun is that strong. And it was that hot. So the farmer sunburn is in full effect. When I think of sunscreen I always think of an awesome column by Mary Schimich, which was wrongly attributed to Kurt Vonnegut for years. It’s not quite Steve Jobs’ commencement speech, but it’s pretty good. Because it reminds us of the important stuff, like wearing sunscreen. She also reminds us to not worry. Worrying is not important, and it doesn’t help you do anything anyway. If it’s out of your control then what can you do? If it is within your control, then fix it. We also shouldn’t waste time on jealousy or competing with folks. It’s not a race. Not with anyone else anyway. It is about consistent improvement, and being the best you that you can be. At least that’s the way I try to live. But the title of that speech is “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young”. Which is exactly right. I couldn’t understand the logic of wearing sunscreen when I was 22. Just like I couldn’t understand why I shouldn’t worry about what I have or haven’t accomplished. Nor could I understand the importance of living right now – not tomorrow, and certainly not reliving yesterday. I couldn’t understand that stuff, and if you’re 22, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. But at some point you will, and the folks in my age bracket probably understand. I wouldn’t go back in time because I didn’t know anything. And it turns out I am actually in better physical shape, and can afford better beer now than 25 years ago. I finally understand what’s important and can appreciate how every setback taught me something I use almost every day. Cool, huh? By the way, that doesn’t mean I will wear sunscreen next spring either. But at least I’ll have the perspective to laugh at the fact that I do the same stuff every year, as I reach for the aloe. –Mike Photo credit: “Use plenty of sunscreen originally uploaded by Alex Liivet Securosis Firestarter Have you checked out our new video podcast? Rich, Adrian, and Mike get into a Google Hangout and.. hang out. We talk a bit about security as well. We try to keep these to 15 minutes or less, and usually fail. April 28 – The Verizon DBIR April 14 – Three for Five March 24 – The End of Full Disclosure March 19 – An Irish Wake March 11 – RSA Postmortem Feb 21 – Happy Hour – RSA 2014 Feb 17 – Payment Madness Feb 10 – Mass Media Abuse Feb 03 – Inevitable Doom Jan 27 – Government Influence Jan 20 – Target and Antivirus Jan 13 – Crisis Communications 2014 RSA Conference Guide In case any of you missed it, we published our fifth RSA Conference Guide. Yes, we do mention the conference a bit, but it’s really our ideas about how security will shake out in 2014. You can get the full guide with all the memes you can eat. Heavy Research We are back at work on a variety of blog series, so here is a list of the research currently underway. Remember you can get our Heavy Feed via RSS, with our content in all its unabridged glory. And you can get all our research papers too. Understanding Role-based Access Control Advanced Concepts Introduction NoSQL Security 2.0 Understanding NoSQL Platforms Introduction Advanced Endpoint and Server Protection Quick Wins Detection/Investigation Prevention Assessment Introduction Newly Published Papers Defending Against Network-based DDoS Attacks Reducing Attack Surface with Application Control Leveraging Threat Intelligence in Security Monitoring The Future of Security Security Management 2.5: Replacing Your SIEM Yet? Defending Data on iOS 7 Eliminating Surprises with Security Assurance and Testing Incite 4 U Revisiting monoculture: Dan Geer is at it again. One of our preeminent security thinkers is back on the monoculture theme, revisiting his position that any single component used by a majority of technology users represents undue risk. Back in 2003 Dan talked about the risks of Windows dominance. He was right and still is. Now he has applied the monoculture concept to OpenSSL, which was the component that enabled Heartbleed. The reality is, these base components are everywhere. You probably remember that SQL*Slammer leveraged the Jet database. You didn’t buy the Jet DB? Of course you did! It was just built into stuff you wanted. Same deal with OpenSSL, and about a zillion other components that are built in everywhere. Is there a way to contain this kind of risk? Or at least understand it? Um, ask Josh Corman. – MR Sometimes good enough is… Does anyone outside the SIM card alliance really think that Host Card Emulation – mobile app software that mimics a secure element function – is not a threat to their hardware strategy? For that matter, does anyone really believe that HCE is not secure enough for EMV payments? While mobile carriers and device manufactures fumble about putting different secure elements with capabilities on a subset of devices and call that a standard, firms like Apple and Square will simply deliver a seamless, consistent, user-friendly payment experience for most mobile devices. Sure, SIM cards are more secure, but when we are talking about basically one credit card per mobile device, HCE solutions do not need to provide infallible security to be

Share:
Read Post
dinosaur-sidebar

Research

view all

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Totally Transparent Research is the embodiment of how we work at Securosis. It’s our core operating philosophy, our research policy, and a specific process. We initially developed it to help maintain objectivity while producing licensed research, but its benefits extend to all aspects of our business.

Going beyond Open Source Research, and a far cry from the traditional syndicated research model, we think it’s the best way to produce independent, objective, quality research.

Here’s how it works:

  • Content is developed ‘live’ on the blog. Primary research is generally released in pieces, as a series of posts, so we can digest and integrate feedback, making the end results much stronger than traditional “ivory tower” research.
  • Comments are enabled for posts. All comments are kept except for spam, personal insults of a clearly inflammatory nature, and completely off-topic content that distracts from the discussion. We welcome comments critical of the work, even if somewhat insulting to the authors. Really.
  • Anyone can comment, and no registration is required. Vendors or consultants with a relevant product or offering must properly identify themselves. While their comments won’t be deleted, the writer/moderator will “call out”, identify, and possibly ridicule vendors who fail to do so.
  • Vendors considering licensing the content are welcome to provide feedback, but it must be posted in the comments - just like everyone else. There is no back channel influence on the research findings or posts.
    Analysts must reply to comments and defend the research position, or agree to modify the content.
  • At the end of the post series, the analyst compiles the posts into a paper, presentation, or other delivery vehicle. Public comments/input factors into the research, where appropriate.
  • If the research is distributed as a paper, significant commenters/contributors are acknowledged in the opening of the report. If they did not post their real names, handles used for comments are listed. Commenters do not retain any rights to the report, but their contributions will be recognized.
  • All primary research will be released under a Creative Commons license. The current license is Non-Commercial, Attribution. The analyst, at their discretion, may add a Derivative Works or Share Alike condition.
  • Securosis primary research does not discuss specific vendors or specific products/offerings, unless used to provide context, contrast or to make a point (which is very very rare).
    Although quotes from published primary research (and published primary research only) may be used in press releases, said quotes may never mention a specific vendor, even if the vendor is mentioned in the source report. Securosis must approve any quote to appear in any vendor marketing collateral.
  • Final primary research will be posted on the blog with open comments.
  • Research will be updated periodically to reflect market realities, based on the discretion of the primary analyst. Updated research will be dated and given a version number.
    For research that cannot be developed using this model, such as complex principles or models that are unsuited for a series of blog posts, the content will be chunked up and posted at or before release of the paper to solicit public feedback, and provide an open venue for comments and criticisms.
  • In rare cases Securosis may write papers outside of the primary research agenda, but only if the end result can be non-biased and valuable to the user community to supplement industry-wide efforts or advances. A “Radically Transparent Research” process will be followed in developing these papers, where absolutely all materials are public at all stages of development, including communications (email, call notes).
    Only the free primary research released on our site can be licensed. We will not accept licensing fees on research we charge users to access.
  • All licensed research will be clearly labeled with the licensees. No licensed research will be released without indicating the sources of licensing fees. Again, there will be no back channel influence. We’re open and transparent about our revenue sources.

In essence, we develop all of our research out in the open, and not only seek public comments, but keep those comments indefinitely as a record of the research creation process. If you believe we are biased or not doing our homework, you can call us out on it and it will be there in the record. Our philosophy involves cracking open the research process, and using our readers to eliminate bias and enhance the quality of the work.

On the back end, here’s how we handle this approach with licensees:

  • Licensees may propose paper topics. The topic may be accepted if it is consistent with the Securosis research agenda and goals, but only if it can be covered without bias and will be valuable to the end user community.
  • Analysts produce research according to their own research agendas, and may offer licensing under the same objectivity requirements.
  • The potential licensee will be provided an outline of our research positions and the potential research product so they can determine if it is likely to meet their objectives.
  • Once the licensee agrees, development of the primary research content begins, following the Totally Transparent Research process as outlined above. At this point, there is no money exchanged.
  • Upon completion of the paper, the licensee will receive a release candidate to determine whether the final result still meets their needs.
  • If the content does not meet their needs, the licensee is not required to pay, and the research will be released without licensing or with alternate licensees.
  • Licensees may host and reuse the content for the length of the license (typically one year). This includes placing the content behind a registration process, posting on white paper networks, or translation into other languages. The research will always be hosted at Securosis for free without registration.

Here is the language we currently place in our research project agreements:

“Content will be created independently of LICENSEE with no obligations for payment. Once content is complete, LICENSEE will have a 3 day review period to determine if the content meets corporate objectives. If the content is unsuitable, LICENSEE will not be obligated for any payment and Securosis is free to distribute the whitepaper without branding or with alternate licensees, and will not complete any associated webcasts for the declining LICENSEE. Content licensing, webcasts and payment are contingent on the content being acceptable to LICENSEE. This maintains objectivity while limiting the risk to LICENSEE. Securosis maintains all rights to the content and to include Securosis branding in addition to any licensee branding.”

Even this process itself is open to criticism. If you have questions or comments, you can email us or comment on the blog.