Securosis

Menu

Research

Incite 5/21/2014: Recitals

Mike Rothman May 21, 2014 No Comments

As we get into late May it is getting to be summer in the ATL. The kids finish up school this week, the pools open, and my standard work attire consists of shorts, a T-shirt, and flip flops. The Boss is frantically getting the kids ready for camp, and we have a few family trips planned before they leave. But first things first – this is the one week a year I won’t travel. It’s dance recital week. I used to be very diligent about not missing well check-ups with the pediatrician. But as the kids get older, especially the girls, it has become a bit awkward for me to be in the room. That’s a bit of a bummer, but I understand. Recitals are something else. I’m sure I have mentioned it before, but the girls don’t dance in the most competitive studio. There is no Black Swan action here. No anorexic high schoolers trying to audition for the Bolshoi. It’s a bunch of girls (and a few brave boys) with a passion for dance, which shows during recitals. So I gladly reserve a week at home, regardless of how loudly duty calls, and I’ll be watching recitals on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights. This has been an annual ritual for at least 8 years, and they all blur together. Lots of sparkles, sequins, and hair buns. Some ballet, modern, contemporary, tap, and even hip-hop. Each night they do maybe 25 routines. Seeing the 4 and 5 years olds go on stage brings back great memories. Seeing the seniors do their solos is a glimpse into the future. The studio just started a program with special needs kids, and it’s uplifting to see them get up on stage and dance as well. Limitations only exist in our minds, so it’s great to see kids up there held back by nothing but their own courage. Monday night’s show featured XX2 in 6 routines. She’s in a very large group, so sometimes it’s hard to see her. But she shines up on the stage like a supernova. With a featured spot in one of the routines, you could see the performer in her. The artist. I have no idea what her future holds but she’ll be in front of people in some way, shape, or form. She’s just too comfortable on stage to not pursue that path. Having gone for so many years, I have gained perspective into how the dancers grow – both physically and skills. The munchies (little girls) have no idea what’s going on. They wave to the crowd and muddle through the routine, and they just have a lot of fun. At some point when they are no longer little girls, we watch the routines and go holy crap, these kids can dance. That moment happened for me this year when I got to the studio a little early a few weeks back and saw XX1 practicing her modern dance routine. The last third of the routine I saw was beautiful. Their movements were graceful and fluid. They were in their element. It was all I could do not to tear up right there, seeing my girl and her friends blossom into dancers right in front of my eyes. I won’t see that routine live until Tuesday night (I write the Incite during the day Tuesday). I can’t wait. They say parents enjoy the accomplishments of their kids a lot more than their own. I’m working on recognizing my achievements, but there is nothing like seeing your kids having fun, doing something they are passionate about. So I’ll keep going to the recitals (and tennis matches and lax games) as long as they play and perform. And for those couple hours time will stop. As it should. –Mike Photo credit: “Melbourne Recital Centre” originally uploaded by Wojtek Gurak The fine folks at the RSA Conference posted the talk Jennifer Minella and I did on mindfulness at the conference this year. You can check it out on YouTube. Take an hour and check it out. Your emails, alerts, and Twitter timeline will all be there when you get back. 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. May 19 – Wanted Posters and SleepyCon May 12 – Another 3 for 5: McAfee/OSVDB, XP Not Dead, CEO head rolling May 5 – There Is No SecDevOps 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 2014 RSA Conference Guide In case any of you missed it, we published our fifth RSA Conference Guide back in February. 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 Newly Published Papers Advanced Endpoint and Server Protection 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 It didn’t take long to commoditize threat intelligence: We have been writing for a while about threat intelligence – most recently about how TI fits into the security monitoring process. Next up on our research plans is a look at how TI can be leveraged in incident response

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.