Security Firms Discover New Risk: People Say Stuff On Blogs And Social Network Sites!

from the oh-no! dept

Wed, Mar 28th 2007 8:25am — Mike Masnick

Security firms always seem to be looking for new "risks" to hype up, some more ridiculous than others. The latest is that some security firm is claiming that "web 2.0" is a big security risk because people use things like blogs and social networks to communicate, and they might just communicate some top secret product plans or something. Other than that, the fear isn't exactly clear, though, you have to wonder if security firms released similar overhyped fear mongering reports when the telephone first became popular. You know that employees can leak information over the phone too? Fax machines are a big security hole as well. And, let's not forget that huge security hole known as actually talking to non-employees face-to-face. Something must be done!

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

13 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Overcast, 28 Mar 2007 @ 8:40am

What a new concept....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mr. Derp, 28 Mar 2007 @ 8:48am

In other news, the sun is big and hot.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 28 Mar 2007 @ 8:50am
  
  Re:
  Yes, but not at night!
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - youhadmeatyes, 28 Mar 2007 @ 9:27am
    
    Re: Re: But not at night
    Niiiiiice! LOL!
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 28 Mar 2007 @ 10:04am
    
    Re: Re:
    So since you can't see it, it is no longer big or hot?
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 28 Mar 2007 @ 10:36am
  
  Re:
  Actually, the sun is still big and hot at night. You just can't see it.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
TheDock22, 28 Mar 2007 @ 9:00am

Well that's dumb
Most companies make you sign a confidentiality agreement. If you leak information, not only can you be fired but you can be sued. So...why did the security firms waste all this money again?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Magicdiablo, 28 Mar 2007 @ 9:09am
  
  Re: Well that's dumb
  Because they have nothing else better to do with all that money. Who wants to spend money on research on bigger and better things, like a better security protocol, or teaching "Americans"to speak English? Eh, we don't need that. Yet another reason stupidity rules the world.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ray, 28 Mar 2007 @ 9:45am

The opposite of openness
This in the same month that Wired published an eye-opening look at why true openness in the forms of blogs and the like may be the key to companies successfully using those tools to connect with customers and stakeholders. More companies should have the courage to operate in the open. The whole notion of proprietary knowledge is so 20th century.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
SkippyTMut, 28 Mar 2007 @ 9:51am

BREAKING NEWS!!!!
Security Firms gives away own huge money making secret!!!!!!

The secret: Get people all worried about stuff like blogs and social networks so they will pay us to "help" them
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Elohssa, 28 Mar 2007 @ 11:03am

Our Comrade, the Sun
I have learned through sources better not named, that the sun visits foreign nations at night, some of whom are COMMUNIST!

That's right, while your children are in their beds, dreaming the AMERICAN DREAM, that leftist pinko commie sun is shining down on those heathen bastards!

Something must be done!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Charles Griswold, 28 Mar 2007 @ 4:19pm

Security Risks
Next thing you know, they will be saying that the next big internet security risk is people, because they talk with each other. :-P
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
|333173|3|_||3, 29 Mar 2007 @ 8:55am

The next security risk is computers. If all teh computers were eradicated, there would be no more spam, no more viruses, and the worlds computer networks would be virtually secure.If all devices which could be reprogrammed except by hardware modification were removed, all malware would forever be killed off.

Teaching Americans english is a bad idea, it would be better to let the two languages go thier seperate ways. That way, when the Americans are trying to use a language which is only bareley intelligible (like Portugese and Spanish, if you speak one you can vaugely understand the other), then people will recognise that the languages are happliy separating. Local content laws throughout the commonwealth, conservative press, and anti-Americanism will all help that divergence by reducing the flow of words adn usages from one to the other. Creating a perfect machine translator would be the ideal soltion, since this would allow the same site to show English and American text, with only one set of writing. the use of different US and British versions of books also helps this.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]