Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Trust The Cuckoo

You and I—we're neighbors.

I can see that you're here.

Does this bother you? Are you worried? Don't be. But this illustrates an incredible principle about today's world. Everything is built on trust. And that trust is very fragile.

Your computer is constantly downloading programs and files that were written by people you've never even met. And you're okay with it! "As long as it doesn't hurt me," you say. Unfortunately, it can. People can. If you let them. 99% of the hacker's successes in "The Cuckoo's Egg" came from user oversight (e.g. a password written in an email, default system passwords left unchanged). Here's your reminder: Be informed. Don't put information on the net that you wouldn't mind showing up on someone else's computer screen. "Oh be wise, what can I say more?"