The Cambridge University Hindu Cultural Society has a nice post about finding one’s place in the world:
The tiger must hunt, the nightingale must sing, the cow must yield. Similarly, there are tigers among men, nightingales among men, cows among men. We must act according to our dharma if we are to have peace in this life. In the words of the Shakesperian character, Polonius, ‘ This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.’
Often when working in IT departments the security professional is tugged away to perform other duties. The draw of performance issues and service delivery is so strong it can be difficult to remember that in order to have peace we must remain true. Security is a separate and distinct dharma.
Dead FARC leader’s laptop data cited in US-backed Columbian military operation in Ecuador. Evidence of “dirty bomb” alleged. Laptop data also the basis of alleged FARC ties to Venezuela
Seattle-area home fires labeled as domestic terrorism. ELF group suspected due to giant white sheets left behind with the red letters “ELF” painted on them
When thinking about advanced in aviation, wind-tunnels are a necessary step. The cost of disaster is simply too high not to test extensively before deployment. It is a world far removed from the common software development lifecycle.
Oobject shows some fine examples, including one from the Wright brothers:
The interior and exterior of wind tunnels have unusual design requirements that often make them accidental architectural masterpieces.
Test environments as masterpieces? I like the sound of that. Perfect material for presentations to developers who scoff at the idea of testing.
Managing security sure can be a tricky business. What happens when you have to investigate in places that are sensitive or politically tricky? There is no perfect answer. Consider the situation of a South African group called the Scorpions that was created in 1999 and charged with fighting organized crime and corruption:
Earlier this month, a court provisionally charged the former police chief with corruption, accepting bribes worth 1.2m rand ($160,000, £80,000) and defeating the course of justice, after investigations by the Scorpions.
Two problems jump out here:
The group is relatively new, so their political support base will not be strong. People may not even know how much strength or legitimacy they have in their message
They are old enough to be past their “honeymoon” period and on their own in terms of building credibility and independence
Combine those two and you end up with a tricky situation, especially when they are going after a former police chief.
South Africa’s security minister has tabled a proposal in parliament calling for the FBI-style Scorpions special investigations unit to be disbanded.
This row over the right level of independence needed for security investigations will be an interesting one to watch.
a blog about the poetry of information security, since 1995