Securosis

Research

Incite 10/21/2015: Appreciating the Classics

It has been a while since I’ve mentioned my gang of kids. XX1, XX2 and the Boy are alive and well, despite the best efforts of their Dad. All of them started new schools this year, with XX1 starting high school (holy crap!) and the twins starting middle school. So there has been a lot of adjustment. They are growing up and it’s great to see. It’s also fun because I can start to pollute them with the stuff that I find entertaining. Like classic comedies. I’ve always been a big fan of Monty Python, but that wasn’t really something I could show an 8-year-old. Not without getting a visit from Social Services. I knew they were ready when I pulled up a YouTube of the classic Mr. Creosote sketch from The Meaning of Life, and they were howling. Even better was when we went to the FroYo (which evidently is the abbreviation for frozen yogurt) place and they reminded me it was only a wafer-thin mint.   I decided to press my luck, so one Saturday night we watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They liked it, especially the skit with the Black Knight (It’s merely a flesh wound!). And the ending really threw them for a loop. Which made me laugh. A lot. Inspired by that, I bought the Mel Brooks box set, and the kids and I watched History of the World, Part 1, and laughed. A lot. Starting with the gorilla scene, we were howling through the entire movie. Now at random times I’ll be told that “it’s good to be the king!” – and it is. My other parenting win was when XX1 had to do a project at school to come up with a family shield. She was surprised that the Rothman clan didn’t already have one. I guess I missed that project in high school. She decided that our family animal would be the Honey Badger. Mostly because the honey badger doesn’t give a _s**t_. Yes, I do love that girl. Even better, she sent me a Dubsmash, which is evidently a thing, of her talking over the famous Honey Badger clip on YouTube. I was cracking up. I have been doing that a lot lately. Laughing, that is. And it’s great. Sometimes I get a little too intense (yes, really!) and it’s nice to have some foils in the house now, who can help me see the humor in things. Even better, they understand my sarcasm and routinely give it right back to me. So I am training the next generation to function in the world, by not taking themselves so seriously, and that may be the biggest win of all. –Mike Photo credit: “Horse Laugh” originally uploaded by Bill Gracey Thanks to everyone who contributed to my Team in Training run to battle blood cancers. We’ve raised almost $6,000 so far, which is incredible. I am overwhelmed with gratitude. You can read my story in a recent Incite, and then hopefully contribute (tax-deductible) whatever you can afford. Thank you. The fine folks at the RSA Conference posted the talk Jennifer Minella and I did on mindfulness at the 2014 conference. You can check it out on YouTube. Take an hour. Your emails, alerts, and Twitter timeline will 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. Oct 19 – re:Invent Yourself (or else) Aug 12 – Karma July 13 – Living with the OPM Hack May 26 – We Don’t Know Sh–. You Don’t Know Sh– May 4 – RSAC wrap-up. Same as it ever was. March 31 – Using RSA March 16 – Cyber Cash Cow March 2 – Cyber vs. Terror (yeah, we went there) February 16 – Cyber!!! February 9 – It’s Not My Fault! January 26 – 2015 Trends January 15 – Toddler December 18 – Predicting the Past November 25 – Numbness October 27 – It’s All in the Cloud October 6 – Hulk Bash 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. Building Security into DevOps The Role of Security in DevOps Tools and Testing in Detail Security Integration Points The Emergence of DevOps Introduction Building a Threat Intelligence Program Using TI Gathering TI Introduction Network Security Gateway Evolution Introduction Recently Published Papers Pragmatic Security for Cloud and Hybrid Networks EMV Migration and the Changing Payments Landscape Applied Threat Intelligence Endpoint Defense: Essential Practices Cracking the Confusion: Encryption & Tokenization for Data Centers, Servers & Applications Security and Privacy on the Encrypted Network Monitoring the Hybrid Cloud Best Practices for AWS Security Securing Enterprise Applications Secure Agile Development The Future of Security Incite 4 U The cloud poster child: As discussed in this week’s FireStarter, the cloud is happening faster than we expected. And that means security folks need to think about things differently. As if you needed more confirmation, check out this VentureBeat profile of Netflix and their movement towards shutting down their data centers to go all Amazon Web Services. The author of the article calls this the future of enterprise tech and we agree. Does that mean existing compute, networking, and storage vendors go away? Not overnight, but in 10-15 years infrastructure will look radically different. Radically. But in the meantime, things are happening fast, and folks like Netflix are leading the way. – MR Future – in the past tense: TechCrunch recently posted The Future of Coding Is Here, outlining how the arrival of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) has ushered in a new era of application development. The fact is that RESTful APIs have pretty much been the lingua franca of software development since 2013, with thousands of APIs available for common services. By the end of 2013 every major API gateway vendor had been acquired by a big IT company. That was because APIs are an enabling

Share:
Read Post

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.