Re: controversial paper

From: Roger Schlafly (rogersc_at_mindspring.com)
Date: 09/27/03 

Date: Sat, 27 Sep 2003 01:11:39 GMT

"kurt wismer" <kurtw@sympatico.ca> wrote
> i read it as "windows is bad because it's too widespread"...
> the big issue seemed to be the "monoculture", where everyone has
> exactly the same set of vulnerabilities installed as everyone else,
> thereby making the potential collapse of our technological
> infrastructure much more feasible...

The paper is thought-provoking, I found this unconvincing.
Should we stop using TCP/IP and use diverse networks instead,
in order to cut the risk of a potential collapse?

The paper says:

>
> [snip]
> > If anything switching OSes will only make the problem worse. GNU/Linux
is
> > much harder for a newbie to setup correctly and more likely to fall to
> > attack [just ask anyone off the street what say "/etc/init.d/sshd stop"
> > means...]
>
> i think you're missing the larger picture - vulnerabilities will always
> be with us, individual platforms will always face these problems and
> the people who use those platforms will always make mistakes... it's
> far better, however, if the infrastructure as a whole has redundancies
> that are diverse in their technological nature so that a single
> vulnerability can't bring down everything...
>
> the most obvious parallel would be the way genetic diversity in a
> species (a by-product of sexual reproduction) helps prevent that
> species being completely wiped out by various infectious pathogens...
>
> --
> "hungry people don't stay hungry for long
> they get hope from fire and smoke as the weak grow strong
> hungry people don't stay hungry for long
> they get hope from fire and smoke as they reach for the dawn"
>

Relevant Pages

  • Re: controversial paper
    ... > thereby making the potential collapse of our technological ... > i think you're missing the larger picture - vulnerabilities will always ... > far better, however, if the infrastructure as a whole has redundancies ... > "hungry people don't stay hungry for long ...
    (sci.crypt)
  • Re: controversial paper
    ... >>exactly the same set of vulnerabilities installed as everyone else, ... >>far better, however, if the infrastructure as a whole has redundancies ... did you see how many references it had to microsofts "near monopoly"? ... "hungry people don't stay hungry for long ...
    (sci.crypt)
  • Re: controversial paper
    ... >>exactly the same set of vulnerabilities installed as everyone else, ... >>far better, however, if the infrastructure as a whole has redundancies ... did you see how many references it had to microsofts "near monopoly"? ... "hungry people don't stay hungry for long ...
    (sci.crypt)
  • Re: controversial paper
    ... i think you're missing the larger picture - vulnerabilities will always ... "hungry people don't stay hungry for long ... they get hope from fire and smoke as they reach for the dawn" ...
    (sci.crypt)
  • Re: controversial paper
    ... i think you're missing the larger picture - vulnerabilities will always ... "hungry people don't stay hungry for long ... they get hope from fire and smoke as they reach for the dawn" ...
    (sci.crypt)