Breathe, Dammit
Posted on February 15, 2007
Filed Under /dev/null/ | 58 views |
Yesterday, here in Vancouver, the Vancouver Sun led off the day with two “Terrorist Threat” stories on the front page, one about pipelines now being targets, the other about Vancouver’s proposed open WiFi network being a “tool for the terrorists”. Not to be outdone the Province led off with a front-page about how terrorists can attack the Vancouver airport (YVR) using information posted on YVR’s website.
Ok fine, whatever, the sky is falling. I get it and I ignore.
And then today VUNet has to one-up everyone with this absolutely idiotic article: UK smoking ban opens doors for hackers
Security experts today warned that the impending total ban on smoking in UK workplaces could be used by social engineering hackers to steal sensitive corporate data.
In a recent exercise undertaken by security consultancy NTA Monitor, a tester was able to gain access to a corporate building through a back door that was left open for smokers.
Dear everyone in the media: calm the f*ck down and start thinking again. Remember thinking? Give it a go why don’t you.
I could just as easily argue, based on the content of this article and using the same assinine correlations the reporter makes, that doors open the door to hackers. Or security-conscious companies should fire all their smokers in the name of security.
I could also point out that hackers might just walk through the other door, you know, the big one at the front that’s open to the general public with people walking in and out every minute of every day.
Sigh. I call upon every rational, free-thinking person to reject this culture of fear and hysteria. It serves no one well but the media.
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